Over the past week I have been suffering badly with my asthma, which is extremely frustrating as it obviously has a huge impact on my training.
I was first diagnosed with asthma at the age of 8 when we lived in Norway, it was discovered that I was allergic to feathers! Our family had Duvets well before they were introduced to the UK and of course they were feather, even my pillow was feather. My poor parents couldn’t work out why I would wake up night after night not being able to breath! It was a huge relief for everyone especially me when I was handed my first “spin haler” what a difference this little gadget made to my life.
More than 5.2 million people are being treated for asthma in the UK of which 1.1 million are children. That means that there is a person with asthma in one in five households in the UK. There are no boundaries for this disease, it can affect anyone at any age but tends to be worse in children and young adults
Asthma is a condition that affects the airways – the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.
When a person with asthma comes into contact with something that irritates their airways (an asthma trigger), the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten so that the airways become narrower and the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and starts to swell. Sometimes, sticky mucus or phlegm builds up, which can further narrow the airways.
These reactions cause the airways to become narrower and irritated – making it difficult to breath. The signs to look out for are, tight chest, wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. You may not get all of these symptoms; I for example don’t usually wheeze but will have the others and my neck area feels itchy.
Some people have what is called exercised induced asthma (EIA) and will have difficulty breathing approximately 5 – 20 minutes from starting to exercise. People with EIB are very sensitive to both low temperatures and dry air. Air is usually warmed and humidified by the nose, but during demanding activity such as running people breathe more through their mouths. This allows cold, dry air to reach your lower airways and your lungs without passing through your nose, triggering asthma symptoms.
However with the right treatment someone with EIA can participate and excel in any sport.
Everyone who suffers with asthma needs a personal asthma plan. Your doctor and asthma nurse will put this together for you after looking at your symptoms and fine the correct dosage and combination of inhalers to keep you asthma free.
I have two inhalers my Seretide inhaler (purple) that has to be taken on a regular basis, even when I’m feeling well as it helps to keep my asthma under control and reduce the risk of getting an asthma attack (which I promise you is very unpleasant and extremely frightening, not only for me but the friends/family watching you)
My second inhaler “Salbutamol” (blue) is my reliever. This is taken immediately to relieve any symptoms. They quickly relax the muscles surrounding the narrow airways, allowing them to open wider and making it easier to breathe again. This inhaler is essential in treating an asthma attack.
Over the years I have had a few bad asthma attacks that have meant being blue lighted to hospital where I spent a week being treated with steroids; very scary and not something that I would recommend which is why its important to make sure you are doing everything possible to prevent one.
Everyone has different triggers that set off their asthma, these may be pollen, smoke, dust feathers the list is endless. My trigger is cold/damp weather and smoky fires.
Running with asthma is possible if you have good asthma management and know what your trigger is. In January/February I usually have to increase my doseage of my preventer inhaler from two puffs twice a day to two puffs 4 times a day in an attempt to keep everything under control when the weather gets very cold. Although it may not stop it completely it does lessen the likely hood of getting asthma, imagine what it would be like if I didn’t have my inhalers!
Here are a few tips that may help with your asthma. (PLEASE make sure you have checked with your doctor that he is happy for you to run)
- ALWAYS CARRY YOUR RELIEVER INHALER
- If you have EIA use your reliever inhaler about 5-10 minutes before starting exercising.
- Make sure you warm up and cool down properly. Don’t just walk out of your front door and go straight into a run, make sure you warm up for a minimum of 10 minutes and when you have finished your run bring the pace down for a period of time before stopping.
- If the weather is cold then wear a buff around your neck that can be pulled up to cover your mouth and nose, so the moist air you exhale will help humidify the air you inhale.
- If your trigger is pollen try running in the early morning and if the pollen count is particularly high perhaps run on a Treadmill. (at least it gets the session done!)
- Run after it rains as the rain washes away many triggers such as pollen and pollen counts are lowest following a rainstorm. The best time for running with asthma is rainy, wet, cloudy and windless days.
- I have found if my asthma is worse than usual a black coffee seems to work well, I can only presume its something to do with the caffeine.
There are many successful athletes who have EIA but control it with the correct combination of medication and knowing their triggers, we can do the same and enjoy running to our full potential.
Happy Running!
