Exercise Induced Asthma

by Leah, a Junior in High School

One day after running the mile in P.E., Carrie had more trouble breathing than usual. Her chest felt tight, and she felt like she couldn't get enough air. The school nurse sent her to her doctor, who diagnosed her with asthma. Carrie had allergies, but not severe enough to bother her, so she was surprised when her doctor said she had asthma; her friend with asthma also had really bad allergies. Dr. Hogan said that she had exercise-induced asthma that is aggravated by allergies, which means that she will only have attacks when involved in physical activity and her allergies are acting up.

Worried that asthma would get in the way of sports, Carrie asked Dr. Hogan if she would ever be able to play sports again. Dr. Hogan assured her that she could if she took the necessary precautions and treated her asthma as he directed. Carrie was in the sixth grade when she was diagnosed with asthma; she is now a junior in high school and a nationally ranked swimmer.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease in which the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and swollen and in which muscle spasms restrict the flow of air to the lungs. Not all asthmatics have allergies, although allergies can cause asthma in some people. Some people, such as Carrie, have exercise-induced asthma, others suffer attacks because of emotional stress, and still others because of windy weather or a sudden change in the weather.

There are different degrees of asthma: mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent, and severe asthma. Mild intermittent asthma sufferers have attacks twice a week or less and nighttime symptoms twice a month or less. Attacks are brief, and there are no symptoms in between. Mild persistent cases show symptoms more than twice a week but less than once a day and nighttime symptoms more than twice a month. Moderate persistent asthmatics experience symptoms daily and nighttime symptoms once a week. Their attacks occur at least twice a week. Severe asthmatics experience frequent attacks, have continual daytime symptoms, and have frequent nighttime symptoms. These attacks cause the person to limit his or her activity.

Exercise-induced asthmatics, such as Carrie, need to treat their asthma continually even though they only get attacks when exercising. Carrie is a self-professed "walking pharmacy" who takes Singulair tablets once a day to prevent attacks. She takes four puffs of Flovent, an inhaler, and two puffs per nostril of Nasonex, a nasal inhaler, every day. On mornings of competitions, she takes one puff of Serevent, another inhaler. During attacks, she uses the inhaler Albuterol, her "emergency inhaler." Carrie has a mild attack almost every day during swim practice, but she has learned to "just swim them off." She gets severe attacks about every other week, which can last anywhere from a few minutes to almost two hours.

Asthma can only be treated by doctors, so if you think you may have some of the symptoms, contact your physician immediately and seek proper care.

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Disclaimer: This article was written by a members of the public, not associated with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, or Sutter Health. The information contained herein is the opinion of the author's and not necessarily that of your health care provider, the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation or Sutter Health. This information is provided for your general information and education only, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment.
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