5 spring exercise tips for asthmatics
If you have asthma and allergies, spring can mean your asthma symptoms worsen and ultimately you are put off exercising and keeping active outdoors as the sun begins to shine.
In fact, in New Zealand, one in nine adults suffer from asthma, with 84 per cent of sufferers saying their symptoms worsen during the cold, flu and allergy seasons.
However, it important not to give up working out altogether and to find a way around those pesky symptoms.
Amcal Senior Pharmacist, James Nevile, outlines his top tips for working out with asthma in spring.
1. Know your triggers
Whether it’s cold air, exercise, or pollens, know what triggers your asthma and adjust your activity accordingly. If there is a high pollen count, perform the appropriate warm up exercise and try to do your exercise indoors.
If you don’t yet know what sets you off, keep an asthma journal where you can document times of the day that this worsens. You can then chat this through with your pharmacist or GP. Before changing your exercise plan, speak to your doctor to be sure you have an up to date asthma action plan and take your asthma medicines according to your action plan.
2. Be pragmatic
If you know you’re going to work out that day, be sure to use both your preventer medicine and reliever medicine as per your asthma action plan. You don’t have to stop doing what you love, but if it’s a particularly cold and windy day, try to complete an indoor work-out instead of exercising outdoors.
3. Asthma control can vary with seasons
For some people living with asthma, their symptoms may worsen as a result of the weather. If you’re having trouble breathing, it might be a sign that you need to go speak to your pharmacist who may refer you to a doctor. Many people find that when they are feeling run down with a cold or flu, they’ll experience asthma-like respiratory issues. Even if you’ve never had asthma before, go get it checked out to be safe.
4. Mix up your routine
During strenuous activity, we tend to breathe through our mouths – allowing the cool, dry air directly into our lungs causing shortness of breath, coughing and decreased performance. While you don’t have to hang up your running shoes, you could alternate your workout schedule with activities such as swimming are also great for fitness but less likely to trigger respiratory issues.
5. Know when to take it easy
No, you can’t sweat out that cold and flu as much as you might want to – sometimes you just have to take a day off. When you’re struck down with a virus, the best thing for recovery is rest. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you have some time off exercise to get better. If you keep the fluids up and get ample sleep, you’ll be back to your full energy levels much faster than if you try to push through!
How do you manage your asthma while exercising? Let us know in the comments below.
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