hard workout/breathing bronchial pain

[mimitabby]

inhaler? asthma? really? I will read the article, thanks.

edit:
I read the article. I did not experience any tightening or difficulty in breathing later, when i did a more strenuous hill. This happened not at the beginning of the exercise, but in the middle, it was the first of a series of hills.

what the article mentioned, it being a drying of the passages (which the body finds irritating) makes sense.
I wonder what can be done about it besides using inhalers!

[Kathi]

I'm relatively new to this asthma thing, besides EIA I have regular asthma. Mine, however, is brought on by certain triggers, humidity, air pollution, smoke etc.

In the beginning, I was pretty casual about it but I knew in certain cases I needed to use it, especially when I started coughing. Before I had my inhaler I went into a bar to talk to a friend. I wasn't there more than 5 minutes but had to leave because of the cigarette smoke. I coughed for at least an hour and felt like I couldn't get my breath. It was pretty scary. About that time I started seeing an allergist. He gave me an inhaler but didn't tell me I had asthma. I thought I only needed the inhaler for cigarette smoke. I didn't know that other things would set me off.

In 04 we did Bike Virginia. We were driving to the college where the tour started. It was a warm day so we had the windows down in the car. We were about 30-45 minutes away from our destination when I started coughing. My inhaler was packed in my bag in the trunk so instead of stopping and using it I ignored the symptoms. My cough got worse. Finally, I was so bad that I couldn't get a breath. At that time I thought I was panicking so I still misinterepted my sypmtoms. By the time we got to the school and stopped the car I was so short of breath that I could barely breathe enough to find my inhaler. After I used the inhaler my symptoms subsided.

After that experience whenever I feel symptoms coming on I use my inhaler. I also take Singulair which helps me some. We have a friend whose daughter-in-law died of an asthma attack because she didn't have her inhaler with her. By the time her husband got help she was gone.

I think the article does talk about alternatives but using an inhaler is such a simple solution. For me its 2 puffs before I exercise which translates to 8-10 puffs a week.

After that experience that day in Viriginia I realized that Asthma is not something you want to play games with. Now, I keep my inhaler with me at all times.

[RoadRaven]

Mimi's and Kathi's may be exercised induced asthma... however, some of you others who have what Jenn describes - just the coughing for a few hours, sometimes a few days after a solid ride, may have "Pursuiters Cough".

It's kind've like you've sandpapered your throat with air due to heavy breathing (I get it after most races I do).

<<< Raven trying to breath in a TT

There are a few threads on PC here, and I think EIA also gets a mention in those as well. If you search for either you should find some other perspectives also.

[mimitabby]

PURSUITERs cough!!! That's it!!
thank you.

[kelownagirl]

I have an inhaler for EIA and get Pursuiter's Cough when I ride really hard in cooler weather. Yesterday I read that taking Omega 3 may reduce symptoms of EIA, as does reducing your salt intake.

I am looking online to find more sources but here's a snippet of one article.


Dietary Supplements
Accumulating evidence suggests that a diet low in salt and high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants can reduce the incidence of EIA. Animal studies indicate that salt loads can affect leukotriene release. Many studies show a beneficial effect of a low-salt diet of about 1,500 mg per day, while other authors suggest less than 2,400 mg per day of sodium to reduce the severity of EIA.8,18,19 Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid are omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish oils. These agents competitively inhibit arachidonic acid metabolism, thereby reducing the generation of inflammatory prostaglandins and leukotriene mediators, as well as the inflammatory cell production of cytokines. Therefore, it has been postulated that diets high in fish oils may reduce diseases caused by inflammation, including EIA. To date, clinical data of the short-term use of fish oil supplements for asthma are controversial. Further clinical trials are needed to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acids in people with asthma.17,20,21

Evidence suggests that oxidants produced during the inflammatory process may contribute to asthma; thus, antioxidants may be effective in reducing the severity of EIA. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), in doses ranging from 500 to 2,000 mg taken one to two hours before exercise, has been shown to improve EIA to subclinical levels in several clinical trials.22-24 Beta-carotene, dosed at 64 mg daily for one week, and lycopene, dosed at 30 mg daily for one week, have also demonstrated efficacy.25,26

Caffeine causes bronchiolar smooth muscle relaxation and can reduce EIA severity. However, the doses required to achieve this exceed the limits permitted for international competition (<12 mcg/mL in urine) and are likely to result in disqualification from professional athletic events. The doses of caffeine required to show benefit (7 to 10 mg/kg taken 90 minutes to two hours prior to exercise) are also likely to cause significant diuresis.27,28

(That was from:

Management of Exercise-Induced Asthma
Cathy L. Bartels, PharmD, FAAIM
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions,
Omaha, Nebraska

Amy F. Wilson, PharmD
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions,
Omaha, Nebraska

US Pharm. 2006;7:42-48. )

[kelownagirl]

I also found this from Indiana University.


Fish oil eases exercise-induced asthma symptoms.

People suffering from exercise-induced asthma were able to reduce their symptoms below the threshold used to diagnose the disease by eating a diet supplemented with fish oil, according to research findings by Indiana University exercise physiologist Timothy Mickleborough. The special diet reduced narrowing of the patient's airway and enabled the person to use less asthma medication, the study showed. These and related research findings by Mickleborough, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, offer the prospect of combining dietary supplementation with reduced medication in a treatment that could be at least as beneficial as either in isolation. There would also be fewer of the potential side effects from medication, such as reduced effectiveness from long-term use and toxicity from some medications. In the fish oil study, the post-exercise lung function of participants -- adults with mild-to-moderate persistent asthma -- improved by about 64 percent and their use of emergency inhalers decreased by 31 percent when they consumed a diet supplemented with fish oil, rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, for three weeks. Mickleborough's fish oil findings were published in the January issue of the journal Chest. His poster presentation, titled "Protective effect of fish oil supplementation on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects," is included in the respiratory function session on Thursday (June 1). Co-authors are Martin Lindley, research scientist in the IUB Department of Kinesiology; Alyce Fly, associate professor in the IUB Department of Applied Health Science; and Alina Ionescu, Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK.

Mickleborough can be reached at 812-855-0753 and tmickleb@indiana.edu.

Vitamin C reduces exercise-induced asthma symptoms.

Vitamin C supplementation reduced the severity of exercise-induced asthma symptoms in asthmatics during a study by Indiana University researcher Sandy Tecklenburg. The research by Tecklenburg, a student in the IU Department of Kinesiology's highly ranked doctoral program, involved eight asthmatics who also had EIA. For two weeks, they ingested either ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C, or a placebo. All subjects underwent a one-week washout period before crossing over to the alterenate diet. In EIA vigorous exercise triggers an acute narrowing of the airway afterward making breathing difficult. Tecklenburg's research found that the post-exercise lung function, as measured by the forced expiratory volume in 1 second, decreased by an average 6.4 percent for study participants receiving the ascorbic acid supplementation, compared to decreases of 14.3 percent and 12.9 percent for participants on a normal diet or receiving a placebo respectively. In addition, several proinflammatory mediators were also significantly reduced on the ascorbic acid diet. Her research also found that the reduction in the severity of EIA may occur through a mechanism by which ascorbic acid supplementation reduces reactive oxygen species, thereby leading to a reduction in bronchoconstrictive mediators, which are chemical messengers that trigger airway narrowing. Tecklenburg's adviser for the project was Timothy Mickleborough, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology. Her poster presentation, titled "Ascorbic acid supplementation reduces severity of exercise-induced asthma," is included in the respiratory function session on Thursday (June 1). Co-investigators are Mickleborough; Joel Stager, professor in the Department of Kinesiology; Alyce Fly, associate professor in the Department of Applied Health Science; and Yeon Bai, a graduate student in the Department of Applied Health Science. The research was funded in part by a grant from Gatorade. Tecklenburg received an award for the best research poster in the doctoral student category at the most recent Midwest ACSM conference, where she presented this research.

Tecklenburg can be reached at stecklen@indiana.edu.

[mountainchick]

When first arriving to Japan (and even now a year later) I've gotten some nasty upper respiratory infections because of the different plants and air over here.

When I exercised I was wheezing after and coughing. Talking to the doc I got an inhaler which helped, but I didn't want to be reliant on it all the time. I had never had asthma symptoms before coming over. This really irritated me because I am usually the picture of good health.

I still get the wheezing, but I'm trying to ween myself off the inhaler as well as my daily claritin. I hate taking meds and feel I can survive without (I'm slightly stubborn). So far its been working. I rarely use my inhaler and about once or twice a week take the claritin, even though we have 2 cats and I'm off the charts allergic.

I hope you figure out what is happening! I've really focused on my breathing while I'm running, trying to take deeper more productive breaths instead of short, shallow ones that don't fill my lungs.

Keep us updated, it will be interesting to hear whats going on!

[Kathi]

This morning I found this article, it explains the difference between EIA and pursuiter's cough.

http://www.uspharmacist.com/index.as...age=8_1801.htm

[alpinerabbit]

I had trouble breathing in "all the way" after both saturday/sunday's double long, hard ride. We've had unusually warm weather and ozone concentrations are high. It tends to irritate. Perhaps you've had high ozone levels too?