Modern Health Therapy

Asthma attacks caused by exercise are given in almost all asthmatic patients who exercise a certain intensity, especially if they have fallen (or removed) the asthma medication. This phenomenon is so typical, if not present, should be reviewed in the diagnosis of bronchial asthma. In some patients the only manifestation of the disease.

Since most people exercise, these attacks of exercise-induced asthma is a potential risk that must be taken into account.

Fortunately, in most cases is achieved adequate control with medication and other therapeutic measures.

What are the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma?

Symptoms, either alone or in combination, include:

- Cough, though the asthma is not the only cause.

- Tightness in chest or a special feeling of tightness, with shortness of breath and chest sounds (wheezing).

- Dyspnea, or shortness of breath (this feeling is different from what you have when you are in bad physical shape, but in these cases appears dyspnea during exercise and dyspnea in asthma usually occurs at the end of effort).Chronology of exercise-induced asthma

- The symptoms usually appear after completing the exercise and reached a peak intensity at 5 minutes.

- The more severe attacks may begin during the period, forcing stop the effort.

- Wheezing and chest tightness are decreasing in the next 10 to 30 minutes spontaneously. Recovery may take longer if the attack is serious.

Why does exercise cause asthma attacks?

No one knows the exact mechanism by which exercise triggers asthma attacks. Appears to be involved nerve endings that control muscles and glands of the airways and changes in the distribution of blood flow through the lungs.

One of the most accepted hypothesis is this: When we exercise, breathing becomes faster and deeper, and this, in turn:

- Increased evaporation from the surface of the lining of the airways, causing an increase in the concentration of solutes in mobile environments. This is known as increased osmotic load.

- The airways are rapidly cooled due to heat losses produced by evaporation.

In asthma untreated (or inadequately treated), the lining of the airways is inflamed. Moisture loss and perhaps the cooling of the lining of the airways, act as triggers to make inflammatory cells release chemical mediators inflamed mucosa with different properties, which, among other things, cause contraction of muscle cells the airways, causing bronchoconstriction and resulting in the typical symptoms of asthma attack.

Evidence supporting the hypothesis of the mechanism by which exercise triggers asthma attacks

- Attack of exercise-induced asthma can be simulated (and led) on a voluntary basis, increasing respiratory rate.

- The warm, moist air breathing reduces or prevents the exercise-induced asthma. It seems that in these conditions there is less drying and cooling of the lining of the airways. As a result, there is a decreased release of chemical mediators and there are fewer and fewer symptoms of bronchial asthma.

- Conversely, if you breathe cold, dry air increases exercise-induced asthma. The drying and cooling of the lining of the airways produce a greater release of chemical mediators that cause bronchoconstriction and symptoms typical of asthma.

Who gets asthma with exercise?

- Almost all asthma patients who exercise, especially if they are in treatment or it is insufficient.

- A minority of patients with severe asthma suffer exercise-induced asthma despite the best treatment.

- Children are particularly affected by this problem, because they are much more active than adults and do more exercise.

- When conducting studies, 3% of school-age children has asthma triggered by exercise. These figures vary slightly depending on geographic location.

- When doing research on athletes, even a 12-15% state have or have had asthma with exercise.

- 20% of the athletes who participated in the 1996 Olympics said they had experienced asthma with exercise.

- A degree of bronchoconstriction has been described in patients with allergic rhinitis hypersensitive to grass pollens (hay fever) without showing bronchial asthma. This may indicate that the patient has asthma triggered by exercise undiagnosed and occurs because the airways of these patients often have inflammation and therefore respond in an exaggerated manner for the purpose of drying and cooling of the way air.

credit to: Dr. Joaquin Muñiz Girón, Dr. Nicola Wilson

Possibility Related Posts:

• Exercise-Induced Asthma: Severity of Symptoms
  Severity of symptoms The severity of symptoms depends on: - Individual response (some individuals are much more sensitive than others.) This re...