It used to be that children diagnosed as asthma sufferers were cosseted and kept inside to play quietly. These individuals, in turn, grew up into inactive adults, which unfortunately was only likely to exacerbate their condition.
Classic symptoms and signs of asthma are cough, wheeze (the cardinal sign), shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. Symptoms and signs may vary between day and night, from day to day, or be seasonal. Many sufferers' symptoms are precipitated by factors like environmental allergens (house dust mites, grass pollens, animal dander, occupational materials); non-specific irritants (smoke, dust, fumes); cold weather and exercise.
Hungry
Traditionally it was thought that asthmatics should avoid certain foods (particularly difficult for a hungry, active athlete). This is no longer agreed to be the case - aside from individuals with a sulphite sensitivity, meaning that foods containing these preservatives should be avoided. Sulfites occur naturally in fermented beverages and wines and are often used as preservatives in dried fruits and dried potato products.
For runners and sports people, asthma symptoms are likely to be experienced as both unfair and a huge irritation. What can you do to gain excellent control over your symptoms so that you are in a position to enjoy your next race or club run?
When starting off as a runner, you work together with a doctor and/or a biokineticist to achieve good control over your asthma symptoms. Exercise-induced symptoms mean only one thing - asthma is not well controlled. Some asthmatics may require a puff or two of reliever meds before or even during a race, but if this becomes a problem for them, i.e. if they need a reliever more than three times per week or every time they exercise, their controller meds should be adjusted. Alternately, they should speak to their doctor about switching to the new SMART asthma treatment.
The majority of asthma cases do have an exercise component, where exercise can be a trigger, especially if the asthma is not under control through proper medicine. When you exercise you breathe in three to four times more air through the nose and lungs, plus more rapidly, more frequently and in deeper breaths. The problem with the conventional treatment is that it can be complicated to treat someone properly with an inhaler.
It's not like swallowing a pill - it is technology-driven and requires co-ordination. And mostly, if you do not have the benefit of the latest combined treatments - you have to remember how and when to take two different inhalers. You have to remember to use it and you have to take it even on those days that you don't feel bad. The net result is that people don't take their medication; and this is as harmful as not being treated at all.
Asthma is a chronic disorder and if you don't treat it constantly, your airways can become scarred. Asthma has two components to it - inflammation and bronchospasm. If the inflammation is not under control, the bronchospasm worsens. Newer therapies, such as the SMART asthma treatment, where the co-ordination problem is eliminated - and the controller and reliever dose is provided in one medication - should be explored.
A combination of an inhaled long-acting beta-agonist, which opens the airways by relaxing the muscles at play there, (such as formoterol) and an inhaled steroid anti-inflammatory medication (such as budesonide). Recently, these drugs have been combined to deliver simultaneous doses of both drugs (a drug on the shelves available by prescription only and referred to as SMART - Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Treatment), which allows sufferers to receive regular controller and reliever treatment - at an adequate dosage level.
A short-acting beta-agonist (a separate reliever inhaler) does not have to be used when this therapy is prescribed, as the long-acting beta-agonist (formoterol) in the treatment works quickly - and should be used to relieve the bronchospasm when a patient is particularly symptomatic.
Asthmatics should therefore not need to seek out an air-conditioned gym for the months when their allergies tend to be worst, instead of training outdoors. Asthmatics should be able to live a normal life.
Classic symptoms and signs of asthma are cough, wheeze (the cardinal sign), shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. Symptoms and signs may vary between day and night, from day to day, or be seasonal. Many sufferers' symptoms are precipitated by factors like environmental allergens (house dust mites, grass pollens, animal dander, occupational materials); non-specific irritants (smoke, dust, fumes); cold weather and exercise.
Hungry
Traditionally it was thought that asthmatics should avoid certain foods (particularly difficult for a hungry, active athlete). This is no longer agreed to be the case - aside from individuals with a sulphite sensitivity, meaning that foods containing these preservatives should be avoided. Sulfites occur naturally in fermented beverages and wines and are often used as preservatives in dried fruits and dried potato products.
For runners and sports people, asthma symptoms are likely to be experienced as both unfair and a huge irritation. What can you do to gain excellent control over your symptoms so that you are in a position to enjoy your next race or club run?
When starting off as a runner, you work together with a doctor and/or a biokineticist to achieve good control over your asthma symptoms. Exercise-induced symptoms mean only one thing - asthma is not well controlled. Some asthmatics may require a puff or two of reliever meds before or even during a race, but if this becomes a problem for them, i.e. if they need a reliever more than three times per week or every time they exercise, their controller meds should be adjusted. Alternately, they should speak to their doctor about switching to the new SMART asthma treatment.
The majority of asthma cases do have an exercise component, where exercise can be a trigger, especially if the asthma is not under control through proper medicine. When you exercise you breathe in three to four times more air through the nose and lungs, plus more rapidly, more frequently and in deeper breaths. The problem with the conventional treatment is that it can be complicated to treat someone properly with an inhaler.
It's not like swallowing a pill - it is technology-driven and requires co-ordination. And mostly, if you do not have the benefit of the latest combined treatments - you have to remember how and when to take two different inhalers. You have to remember to use it and you have to take it even on those days that you don't feel bad. The net result is that people don't take their medication; and this is as harmful as not being treated at all.
Asthma is a chronic disorder and if you don't treat it constantly, your airways can become scarred. Asthma has two components to it - inflammation and bronchospasm. If the inflammation is not under control, the bronchospasm worsens. Newer therapies, such as the SMART asthma treatment, where the co-ordination problem is eliminated - and the controller and reliever dose is provided in one medication - should be explored.
A combination of an inhaled long-acting beta-agonist, which opens the airways by relaxing the muscles at play there, (such as formoterol) and an inhaled steroid anti-inflammatory medication (such as budesonide). Recently, these drugs have been combined to deliver simultaneous doses of both drugs (a drug on the shelves available by prescription only and referred to as SMART - Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Treatment), which allows sufferers to receive regular controller and reliever treatment - at an adequate dosage level.
A short-acting beta-agonist (a separate reliever inhaler) does not have to be used when this therapy is prescribed, as the long-acting beta-agonist (formoterol) in the treatment works quickly - and should be used to relieve the bronchospasm when a patient is particularly symptomatic.
Asthmatics should therefore not need to seek out an air-conditioned gym for the months when their allergies tend to be worst, instead of training outdoors. Asthmatics should be able to live a normal life.
by: Sandra Prior
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