Asthma
Asthma is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning. Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. In the United States, more than 25 million people are known to have asthma. About 7 million of these people are children.
Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA)
Like it sounds, Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA) is asthma that is triggered by vigorous or prolonged exercise or physical activity. Most people with chronic asthma experience symptoms during exercise, however, there are many people without chronic asthma who experience symptoms only during exercise. If this happens to you, talk with your doctor or the Athletic Trainer about the best ways to control asthma so you can stay active.
The following medicines may help prevent asthma symptoms caused by physical activity:
Short-acting beta2-agonists (quick-relief medicine) taken shortly before physical activity can last 2 to 3 hours and prevent exercise-related symptoms in most people who take them.
Long-acting beta2-agonists can be protective for up to 12 hours. However, with daily use, they'll no longer give up to 12 hours of protection. Also, frequent use of these medicines for physical activity might be a sign that asthma is poorly controlled.
Leukotriene modifiers. These pills are taken several hours before physical activity. They can help relieve asthma symptoms brought on by physical activity.
Long-term control medicines. Frequent or severe symptoms due to physical activity may suggest poorly controlled asthma and the need to either start or increase long-term control medicines that reduce inflammation. This will help prevent exercise-related symptoms.
Easing into physical activity with a warmup period may be helpful. You also may want to wear a mask or scarf over your mouth when exercising in cold weather.
If you use your asthma medicines as your doctor directs, you should be able to take part in any physical activity or sport you choose. It is important for athletes to understand how/when to take their medication. If an athlete needs to use their inhaler during a practice or game, that athlete will be removed from play. Athletes need to learn the difference between an asthmatic episode and general lack of conditioning. Athletes experiencing any breathing issues should be removed from play and evaluated by the Athletic Trainer.
Description
To understand asthma, it helps to know how the airways work.
The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who have asthma have inflamed airways. This makes them swollen and very sensitive. They tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances.
When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This narrows the airways, causing less air to flow into the lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways might make more mucus than usual. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow the airways.
This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are
inflamed.
Cause
The exact cause of asthma isn't known. Researchers think some genetic and environmental factors interact to cause asthma, most often early in life. These factors include:
An inherited tendency to develop allergies, called atopy
Parents who have asthma
Certain respiratory infections during childhood
Contact with some airborne allergens or exposure to some viral infections in infancy or in early childhood when the immune system is developing
If asthma or atopy runs in your family, exposure to irritants (for example, tobacco smoke) might make your airways more reactive to substances in the air.
Some factors might be more likely to cause asthma in certain people than in others. Researchers continue to explore what causes asthma.
Symptoms
Common signs and symptoms of asthma include:
Coughing. Coughing from asthma often is worse at night or early in the morning, making it hard to sleep.
Wheezing. Wheezing is a whistling or squeaky sound that occurs when you breathe.
Chest tightness. This may feel like something is squeezing or sitting on your chest.
Shortness of breath. Some people who have asthma say they can't catch their breath or they feel out of breath. You may feel like you can't get air out of your lungs.
The type of asthma symptoms you have, how often they occur, and how severe they are may vary over time. Sometimes your symptoms may just annoy you. Other times, they may be troublesome enough to limit your daily routine.
Severe symptoms can be fatal. Thus, treating symptoms when you first notice them is important, so they don’t become severe.
With proper treatment, most people who have asthma can expect to have few, if any, symptoms either during the day or at night.
What Causes Asthma Symptoms To Occur?
Many things can trigger or worsen asthma symptoms. Your doctor will help you find out which things (called triggers) may cause your asthma to flare up if you come in contact with them. Triggers can include:
Allergens from dust, animal fur, cockroaches, mold, and pollens from trees, grasses, and flowers
Irritants such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemicals or dust in the workplace, compounds in home décor products, and sprays (such as hairspray)
Medicines such as aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and nonselective beta-blockers
Sulfites in foods and drinks
Viral upper respiratory infections, such as colds
Physical activity, including exercise
Other health conditions can make asthma harder to manage. Examples of these conditions include a runny nose, sinus infections, reflux disease, psychological stress, and sleep apnea. These conditions should be treated as part of an overall asthma care plan.
Asthma is different for each person. Some of the triggers listed above may not affect you. Other triggers that do affect you might not be on the list. Talk with your Athletic Trainer and doctor about the things that seem to make your asthma worse.
Examination
Not all people who have asthma have these symptoms. Likewise, having these symptoms
doesn't always mean that you have asthma. The best way doctors have to diagnose asthma is to use
a lung function test, ask about medical history (including type and frequency of symptoms), and do a
physical exam.
Treatment
Asthma is a long-term disease that has no cure. The goal of asthma treatment is to control the disease. Good asthma control will:
Prevent chronic and troublesome symptoms, such as coughing and shortness of breath
Reduce your need for quick-relief medicines (see below)
Help you maintain good lung function
Let you maintain your normal activity level and sleep through the night
Prevent asthma attacks that could result in an emergency room visit or hospital stay
To control asthma, partner with your doctor to manage your asthma or your child's asthma. Athletes should take an active role in their asthma care.
Taking an active role to control your asthma involves:
Working with your doctor to treat other conditions that can interfere with asthma management.
Avoiding things that worsen your asthma (asthma triggers). However, one trigger you should not avoid is physical activity. Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Talk with your doctor about medicines that can help you stay active.
Working with your doctor and Athletic Trainer to create and follow an asthma action plan.
Asthma is treated with two types of medicines: long-term control and quick-relief medicines. Long-term control medicines help reduce airway inflammation and prevent asthma symptoms. Quick-relief, or "rescue," medicines relieve asthma symptoms that may flare up.
Your initial treatment will depend on the severity of your asthma. Followup asthma treatment will depend on how well your asthma action plan is controlling your symptoms and preventing asthma attacks.
Your level of asthma control can vary over time and with changes in your home, school, or work environments. These changes can alter how often you're exposed to the factors that can worsen your asthma.
Your doctor may need to increase your medicine if your asthma doesn't stay under control. On the other hand, if your asthma is well controlled for several months, your doctor may decrease your medicine. These adjustments to your medicine will help you maintain the best control possible with the least amount of medicine necessary.
Asthma treatment for certain groups of people—such as children, pregnant women, or those for whom exercise brings on asthma symptoms—will be adjusted to meet their special needs.
Follow an Asthma Action Plan
An asthma action plan gives guidance on taking your medicines properly, avoiding asthma triggers (except physical activity), tracking your level of asthma control, responding to worsening symptoms, and seeking emergency care when needed.
You can work with your doctor to create a personal asthma action plan. The plan will describe your daily treatments, such as which medicines to take and when to take them. The plan also will explain when to call your doctor or go to the emergency room.
If your child has asthma, all of the people who care for him or her should know about the child's asthma action plan. This includes the school nurse, Athletic Trainer, and coaches. These caretakers can help your child follow his or her action plan.
Prevention
You can’t prevent asthma. However, you can take steps to control the disease and prevent its symptoms. For example:
Learn about your asthma and ways to control it.
Follow your written asthma action plan. (For a sample plan, go to the American Lung Association's "Asthma Action Plan.")
Use medicines as your doctor prescribes.
Identify and try to avoid things that make your asthma worse (asthma triggers). However, one trigger you should not avoid is physical activity. Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Talk with your doctor about medicines that can help you stay active.
Keep track of your asthma symptoms and level of control.
Get regular checkups for your asthma.