??? for those with asthma

[RoadRaven]

Search for and check out the "pursuiters cough" threads and asthma/exercise induced asthma threads. There have been a few of them over the last couple of years.

I am a road racer get exercise induced asthma after a particularly hard time trial (a race discipline). Sometimes I have trouble breathing 'normally' for up to half ann hour after race end, and often have a dry cough for anything between 1-3 days after. i use no medication for this.

I do get asthma ocassionally also - particularly in summer during hayfever season. I also was given an inhaler to help my bronchials with a 4 week winter flu I have been battling.

[OakLeaf]

What really helped me with my very mild asthma was learning that asthma doesn't keep me from breathing air in, it keeps me from forcing air out. Since my asthma is so mild, I'd never seen a pulmonologist, so I learned this from a former riding buddy who has EIA.

Forget trying to inhale. The reason it feels like you can't get air in is because your lungs are already full (of spent air). Use those assistive muscles to forcibly exhale as much as you can. It's amazing how much better I breathe once I learned this.

[boy in a kilt]

This is also an old mountain climber's trick. It has a name but I can't remember it. All I know is it works well. I don't know why.

[LoriO]

What really helped me with my very mild asthma was learning that asthma doesn't keep me from breathing air in, it keeps me from forcing air out. Since my asthma is so mild, I'd never seen a pulmonologist, so I learned this from a former riding buddy who has EIA.

Forget trying to inhale. The reason it feels like you can't get air in is because your lungs are already full (of spent air). Use those assistive muscles to forcibly exhale as much as you can. It's amazing how much better I breathe once I learned this.

Excellent tip, Thank You !