Exercise is important for your child's physical and mental health. Children with asthma should be able and encouraged to participate in physical education, sports, and other activities in and outside of school.
Read on to learn how to prevent asthma from causing problems for your child during exercise.
What to know about asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic medical problem in children. Children with asthma can have different symptoms at different times. The most common symptoms are cough,
wheeze, difficulty breathing, chest "tightness" and
chest pain.
Asthma “triggers,” such as respiratory infection, allergens or certain weather, can bring on asthma symptoms. Exercise is another common asthma trigger. In fact, about 80% of people with asthma develop wheezing, coughing and chest tightness when they exercise.
How does exercise cause asthma symptoms?
The symptoms of asthma are caused by narrowing of the small bronchial tubes in the lungs. The narrowing is caused by inflammation and swelling within these tubes and by spasm of the muscles in the bronchial walls. It is unknown why exercise causes airways to narrow.
In general, exercise-induced asthma is most likely to occur with endurance exercise in cool, dry air. However, there are exceptions; examples include exercising in warm, humid air with a lot of pollutants or swimming in a poorly ventilated space with strong chlorine fumes.
How can you prevent exercise-induced asthma?
Using a quick-relief medicine 10 to 15 minutes before exercise can usually prevent asthma flare-ups during exercise. If asthma symptoms are occurring often, though, your child's asthma may not be under control. Good asthma control can make a big difference in your child's ability to exercise.
Ask your child's doctor about what medicine is best for your child and make sure your child learns the proper technique for using an inhaler. Also talk with your child's coaches, teachers and school nurses about your child's asthma management
Some other tips that can help prevent exercise-induced asthma:
When exercising in the cold, wrap a scarf or mask around the face to warm up and humidify the air. Avoid exercise in the early morning or try exercising inside.
Increase fitness level (exercise-induced asthma symptoms improve as fitness improves).
Try a different sport or cross-training.
Do a short warm-up exercise before the main exercise session.
Warning: If a child still has asthma symptoms even with treatment, exercise should be stopped. Asthma can be life-threatening if the athlete tries to play through the symptoms. Once the symptoms are controlled, the child can return to exercise.
Other problems that can seem like exercise-induced asthma
Physical inactivity
Probably the most common situation mistaken for exercise-induced asthma is when a child is not in very good athletic shape. It is normal for all of us to breathe harder when we exercise, and this is especially true for someone who isn't very active. Sometimes this normal heavy breathing can be mistaken for asthma. The good news is that it's easy to "cure" this problem by doing more exercise!
Vocal cord dysfunction
In athletes, another problem called
vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) can occur, and seems a lot like exercise-induced asthma. The vocal cords are located in the throat, at the opening to our trachea (windpipe), not in our lungs. They help us form words by opening and closing to let different amounts of air out of the lungs. In VCD, the vocal cords close when they are supposed to open, making it harder to breathe in air.
Signs of VCD include a high-pitched noise while breathing in, breathing too fast, and a "tight" feeling in the throat. It can be very difficult to distinguish VCD from asthma and may require referral to an asthma specialist or
ear, nose and throat specialist.
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