For Olympians and Weekend Warriors Alike, Winter Sports Can Trigger Asthma

LIFE.com

Do you cough, wheeze, or get short of breath when you exercise in cold weather? You could have asthma, but youve got plenty of company. Exercise-induced asthma is surprisingly common among people who work out in cold climates, whether theyre jogging around the neighborhood or gunning for gold in Vancouver.

This week, for example, Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen won the bronze medal in the womens 10-kilometer race, even though she uses asthma medication. In fact, half of cross-country skiers and one-quarter of aspiring winter Olympians in general have exercise-induced asthma according to a 2000 study of 170 athletes conducted by the United State s Olympic Committee.

"Any [exercise] outdoors on a mountaintop is a culprit, but just jogging in Central Park will do it as well," says Len Horovitz, MD, a pulmonary specialist with Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City. Exercise-induced asthma doesnt have to slow you down, however. With the right medications and precautions, exercise-induced asthma wont keep you from your daily workout, or even from competing at an elite level.

How cold and exercise cause asthma

Wheezing, chest tightness, and the other symptoms of exercise-induced asthma generally begin several minutes after you begin working out. For some people, the symptoms start soon after they finish exercising.Although athletes who compete in warm-weather sports may suffer from exercise-induced asthma as well, mixing exercise and cold, dry air is especially problematic. For many people with regular asthma, in f act, just stepping outside in frigid temperatures is enough to cause symptoms.

"Both cold air and exercise in and of themselves can trigger asthma symptoms, but doing them together is more likely to trigger an exacerbation," says Thomas M. Leath, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

When the air is dry—as it often is in cold climates during the winter—your lungs can become even more irritated, Dr. Horovitz adds. "The evaporative loss and cooling of the airways triggers the process of bronchial constriction," he says. "One sport you dont see exercise-induced asthma in so much is swimming. The humidity at water level is such that there isnt as much evaporation as in running or winter sports." (Chlorine, however, can trigger asthma symptoms, Dr. Horovitz notes.)