What should you know about sports asthma?

Exercise can make the airways narrow and irritated, especially when you breathe fast or take in cool, dry air. Symptoms may begin while running, swimming, or playing a field sport, or shortly after stopping. A person may have asthma that is mainly triggered by exercise, or exercise may add to symptoms from established asthma. Allergic rhinitis and exposure to dust or other irritants can make breathing symptoms harder to control. Cough, wheezing, and chest tightness are useful details to record, but they can also have other causes.

Arrange a clinical review if symptoms repeatedly limit exercise, occur at rest, or take longer than expected to settle. A clinician may check your breathing and help you create an activity plan. Warm up gradually, follow the prescribed inhaler instructions, and keep reliever medicine available if it has been prescribed. Avoid exercising through worsening breathing, and move to a comfortable environment if cold air, smoke, or a known irritant is provoking symptoms. Do not borrow another person’s inhaler. A nebuliser treatment may be used in a healthcare setting when symptoms need more support.

Seek urgent medical care for severe or rapidly worsening breathlessness, difficulty speaking in full sentences, blue or grey lips, faintness, confusion, or symptoms that do not improve with the action plan. Stop the activity and use prescribed emergency medicine as directed while arranging help. A new episode of wheezing or chest tightness should be assessed promptly, particularly when it follows a sting, food, or medicine exposure. Repeated exercise symptoms deserve a routine review even when they settle, because the treatment plan may need adjustment.

Ask whether your symptoms fit exercise-related asthma, whether you need breathing tests, which warm-up and inhaler steps apply to you, and how to recognise an attack. Mention the activity, air conditions, timing of symptoms, recovery time, and any cough or wheeze between workouts.