Asthma?

i've been asthmatic for over 30 years. before i started racing seriously 12 months ago i used ventolin only, taking up to 5 double puffs a day. when i started racing i needed to get my asthma sorted out and with my gp we changed my medication to serevent (1 puff in the morning, 1 at night) and pulmicort (same dosage). i now use my ventolin 1 or twice a week if that!!

in my experience coughing isnt a result of asthma but more likely a chest infection or allergy.

find a doctor who understands what your trying to achieve on the bike and therefore will understand what you need medicine wise. my gp's son is an elite rower so she knows about whats banned and whats required for athletes.

good luck and find good doctor

when eddy ruled said:

in my experience coughing isnt a result of asthma but more likely a chest infection or allergy.

While I cannot dispute your personal experience, coughing definitely can be a symptom of asthma. Thirty years ago, many cases of asthma were misdiagnosed as "chronic bronchitis", because the primary symptom was cough rather than the more classical wheezing. Asthma is the result of inflammation in the lung, and allergies contribute to the inflammation, so it is not correct to say that coughing is not a symptom of asthma or that allergies and asthma are not related.

It takes time for inhaled steroids like Pulmacort to have the maximum effect, and they are not at all effective for accute asthma attacks. Most people will require a bronchodilator like Ventolin or Serevent in addition to a steroid. Advair is a combination of the steroid, Flovent, and the bronchodilator, Serevent, in one product. If you have been on Pulmacort for longer than six weeks and you are still having symptoms, then check with your doctor. There are a lot of options available, but usually it is possible to keep asthma under control.

jjiam25 said:

After riding, I cough cough cough, and never can bring it up.

You cannot bring it up because there is nothing to bring up. The cough is due to irritation and inflammation in the lung, but unlike bronchitis or pneumonia, there is nothing there to bring up.

Where I live, the spring tree allergens are in full bloom, so this is a particularly bad time of the year. Every location is different, but for us, March through June are bad because of tree and grass pollens, and August through November are bad because of ragweed. Folks in Austin Texas and surrounding areas have it worst in December and January because of mountain cedar.

I used to suffer horrendous asthma when younger (eg primary school age). I hated taking the ventolin inhalers and other medicine. When I heard from a specialist that most people "grow out of it" i figured that was my chance.

So dealing with a specialist I found out what my triggers were, dust mites, pollen, and cats. So apart from not having pets, we had to be careful about the house environment and keep it clean. Also with some further research, found that my asthma was all but gone in higher humidity environments vs dry environments. This is why swimming in particular is so good for asthmatics, breathing the air in so close to the water surface is high in humidity, so coupled with the exercise of swimming, and the controlled breathing regime of like a freestyle stroke you have the perfect exercise for a recovering asthmatic.

From there I transitioned to other sports, particularlly ones that required very controlled breathing - which I found funnily enough was anaerobic such as 100m sprints. This build up the strength of my diaphram which improves my ability to inhale and evacuate my lungs regardless of irration.

So when I did get into a dusty environment my pipes would still become inflamed, however I had the strength for it not to be an issue anymore.

Now, maintaining a base level fitness, I haven't taken asthma medication for about 12 years, and about 10 years ago, in final year of high school I did a lung test against a friend that was an active triathlete; the result was lung capacity was slightly higher in my friend (by less than 2%) but I had greater strength.

Your general fitness is the key to Asthma management - and swimming is the best starting point.

Give it a few weeks to take effect.

Is it exercise-induced asthma or allergy induced?

when eddy ruled said:

in my experience coughing isnt a result of asthma but more likely a chest infection or allergy.

Exertional cough is an absolutely classical symptom of asthma.

artemidorus said:

Exertional cough is an absolutely classical symptom of asthma.

For me it was a progressive thing. Starts out being wheezing which was both inhale and exhale, then that got worse with a louder more pronounced wheeze as the breathing gets constricted, then it became a cough as I couldn't get air out of my lungs.

Wheezing is a far more classical symptom at the early stages of an asthma attack - identifying this is key too.

parawolf said:

For me it was a progressive thing. Starts out being wheezing which was both inhale and exhale, then that got worse with a louder more pronounced wheeze as the breathing gets constricted, then it became a cough as I couldn't get air out of my lungs.

Wheezing is a far more classical symptom at the early stages of an asthma attack - identifying this is key too.

Exertional cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath are at least as common as the symptom of exertional wheeze in people with no previous diagnosis of asthma. To complicate things further, almost all people who have never had or heard a wheeze have no idea what they feel or sound like and use the term inappropriately to describe a big mixed bag of sensations.