Exercise-induced asthma is asthma that occurs during or after exercise. Someone with exercise induced asthma may not have asthma symptoms at other times. However, when people with exercise-induced asthma exercises, they may experience coughing, wheezing, and difficulty catching their breath.

During exercise, the airways of someone with exercise induced asthma become inflamed and constricted. The trigger for exercise-induced asthma is breathing through the mouth. Sports that require a lot of activity or are played in cold weather can make the person with exercise-induced asthma prone to an asthma attack.

The symptoms of exercise-induced asthma include coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest, chest pain, fatigue, and extreme shortness of breath. The worst symptoms of asthma often occur five to twenty minutes into exertion. The person may be forced to stop exercising. A lot of people with exercise induced asthma will cough as they try to catch their breath.

There is no cure for asthma. Once a patient is diagnosed with asthma, the asthma patient must continue to monitor the asthma symptoms. The treatment for exercise-induced asthma is focused on preventing asthma attacks and allowing the asthma patient to participate in activities. To prevent asthma attacks from exercise induced asthma, some doctors will prescribe an asthma inhaler containing a bronchodilator like albuterol. The asthma patient may be instructed to use the asthma inhaler before exercising. Using the inhaler before exercising can often prevent the asthma symptoms from occurring during exercise.

If the asthma patient is still having asthma attacks, the doctor may change the prescription of the inhaler or the treatment plan. In some cases, a daily asthma medication is added to the patient’s treatment. No matter what type of asthma they are prescribed for, daily asthma medication is designed to treat inflammation and reduce the risk of asthma attacks.

Warming up before exercise and gradually cooling down after exercise can help prevent an asthma flare-up. Smoking can worsen asthma symptoms. Someone with exercise-induced asthma should avoid exertion whenever they have a cold, bronchitis, respiratory infection, or the flu. Exercising in the presence of pollen or other allergens can worsen asthma symptoms or provoke an asthma attack.

Like some other types of asthma, exercise-induced asthma may not be diagnosed. The person experiencing coughing and difficulty catching their breath may mistake these symptoms as a normal response to exertion. The symptoms of exercise-induced asthma in children may be less severe than the symptoms that adults experience. Parents may notice a problem if their child is wheezing during or after exercise.