The first time someone told me they had exercise induced asthma I said, “Yeah.  Everyone has trouble breathing when they exercise.  That’s what’s suppose to happen.”  I equate exercise induced asthma diagnoses the same as ADHD diagnosis by saying the child has difficulty paying attention in class.  Every kid has trouble paying attention in class, class is boring at that age.  When I was in school my teachers used to tell my parents that I had trouble paying attention in class and determined it was because I was too smart for the speed of the normal classes; therefore, I did not pay attention.  I may have had higher intelligence than my peers, but for instance, I didn’t already know my multiplication tables before attending class, they were just boring, that’s why I didn’t pay attention.  Who needs multiplication tables anyways?  I’m going to be a cartoonist when I grow up!

Even though I was skeptical, I now know that exercise induced asthma is a real problem for many runners.  Exercise induced asthma is when you get an inflammation in your breathing passages, making it more difficult to breathe for a period of time.  There are many possible triggers and each runner has their own, but some are contaminants in the air such as smoke, pollution, vapors, or dust.  If you have exercise induced asthma try not to ever run in a Middle Eastern country like Iraq; it’s pretty dusty.  Other things that can induce the asthma are respiratory infections, cold and flues, humidity, and even emotional stress; however, once you begin running you relieve stress so don’t worry about this one.

EIA can not be cured but it can be controlled by medication.  If you think you may experience EIA contact your heathcare provider and schedule and appointment…or stop exercising.  Something you can do until then is breathe through your nose when you are resting after a long run.  When the air goes through your nose it warms and humidifies the air before it reaches your lungs allowing for clean breathing.  When you meet your doctor discuss different types of inhalers that may help you and work out a program for how often and when you should use the product.  Some healthcare professionals recommend using inhalers before or after a run depending on the severity of your symptoms.  Try a couple of different routines and see which one works best for you.

Or you can do like our forefathers did:  don’t run if you are sick and don’t run when the air quality is so bad you can’t breathe outside.  Well, I guess they didn’t have to worry about poor air quality like we do now; unless they were sending smoke signals or something.