Sunday, April 25, 2010

Can Exercise Really Induce Asthma? (cough variant asthma)

cough variant asthma

Asthma is a chronic respiratory ailment affecting millions of people in the United States alone and closing to about a billion worldwide. The involvement or varying factors that can cause asthma makes it difficult for medical and scientific research to come up with a single solution to the problem. The factors being considered include allergies, environmental conditions, genetics or a combination in any of the three.

Aside from the factors that can be considered to cause asthma, research has also shown that age, physical factors, and encounter with infections during childhood can also play a part in causing the various forms of asthma which include allergic asthma, cardiac asthma, cough variant asthma, occupational asthma, nocturnal asthma, and exercise induced asthma. As mentioned earlier, because of the varying factors that should be considered, it is impossible to exactly pinpoint the genes or causes that are responsible for asthma.

Take exercise induced asthma (EIA) for example. It is still a mystery as to why some people experience the onset of symptoms and attacks only when physical or strenuous activities are involved. The symptoms of exercise induced asthma is closely similar to the symptoms that allergic asthma can show but there are some cases where the symptoms are relatively vague and varied resulting to confusion and sometimes neglect. EIA accounts for about 12-15% in the general population of asthmatics and 35-45% of this total population is also affected by allergic asthma as well.

Although the exact mechanism and cause of EIA is still unknown, research have is currently concentrated on verifying two of the most predominant causes. First is the airway humidity theory which suggests that oxygen movement in the airway results in drying out which in turn triggers a complex series of physical and biological events that results in airway oedema secondary to hyperaemia and an increased response of the body to combat drying resulting in bronchospasm and inflammation.

The other theory is airway cooling. This theory is based on the assumption that air movement starting from the largest continuing on to the smallest parts of the bronchial tree results in decreased temperature of the bronchi which may also trigger hyperaemic response in an effort to heat the airway also leading to spasms in the bronchi.

Some of the symptoms associated with EIA include; chest tightness or pain experienced a few minutes before or after the exercise, cough, and shortness of breath, wheezing, moderate to extreme fatigue which is totally unrelated to the activity, prolonged recovery time, and gastrointestinal discomfort.

So to answer the question, yes exercise can induce asthma. But it should not be considered a reason to avoid exercise in any form. Exercise is crucial for physical and mental health. Taking extra precaution and preparation before and during exercise can help you prevent the onset of symptoms and ensure worry free regimens.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddy_Kong_Wai_W

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