Exercise Induced Asthma - What is it?

EIA is a way over (self) diagnosed condition that needs to be diagnosed by a physician with some familiarity with athletics and EIA.

It certainly exists, but I see story after story of people getting short of breath while training/racing and automatically think it's EIA because it's got some similar features.  The problem with that is that there are tons of reasons to be short of breath during those times that have nothing to do with asthma.

Yours certainly doesn't sound like it based on what you've posted, but I'm not your physician and shouldn't make that call for you.  If it's a continual problem for you, you should see your own doc or get a referral to a pulmonologist.

Ok Cool,

Maybe this was a one time thing and just the right set of circumstances happened that day.

My throat has been a little sore the last couple of days, like I'm trying to come down with a sore throat or something - I also remember that during the cardio sesssion on the Eliptical that day I did some extra heavy, deep breathing.

I've done this breathing many times in the past and nothing ever happened, but maybe I overdid it and maybe I am getting a little sick or something from spending so much time in the water lately, and jumping out of the pool and to the Eliptical (which is an air-conditioned room and I think there are ceiling fans overhead - don't pay that mch attention).

What I mean deep breathing is when I get tired or my legs start to burn, etc .... I take in extremely long, heavy, and deep breaths and completely fill my lungs.  Then I hold it for a second to two and then forcefully blow it all out and squeeze out every last molecule of air I have in me.  I'll do this 2, 3, or 4 times in a row and then take one last big breath and whoosh out about half of it. 

Then I pick back up in my regular ryhthm of breathing.  This seems to help bring my heart rate down a couple of beats, makes my legs feel fresher, and seems to help me continue on longer.

Anyhow, I wasn't really coughing and wheezing, it was like I went to open my mouth and talk or went to take a breath and it felt like someone squeezed their hands around my throat and I couldn't take in any air.  It happend like 3 or 4 times within a two or three minute time frame.

Today I went to a pool I belong to, an outside pool, and goofed around some, did watermelons, can-openers, a little swimming, etc .... for about an hour.  Then went to the YMCA and swam laps in the indoor pool for about 30 minutes - went 850 (still yet my all-time longest distance), then hit the jacuzzi again for about 15 minutes.

Today no problem with breathing - but did nearly pass out/black out for a few seconds.  I think I got too heated up, stood up too quickly and I think my blood pressure had gotten too low.  I got out to push the button to start up the water jets again and felt light-headed, so I lean over onto one of the rails to rest my head and before I knew it my knees buckled and I nearly fell down.

I recoverd in a few seconds and immediately went to the shower room and stood under cold water for a few minutes, ate a banana and then I was all better.

So, I dunno, if it happens again or seems to be a problem I'll defintely go see my doctor - I just didn't know if others ever experienced this and if EIA is an actual medical problem/disease or just a term used for breathing problems that might arise sometime from heavy exercise.

Thanks for the replies!

I have allergy induced asthma that I don't typically have a problem with unless I am exercising.

I remember as a child --when I was a swimmer--after almost every event I would spend a few minutes coughing and choking on deck. It would pass rather quickly but the assumption was that I had exercise induced asthma. Sometimes I will still have coughing fits and am extra phlemgy after a race and struggle with some shortness of breath. Particularly the long events--I will have a "heavy" feeling in my lungs. It doesn't last long so I don't bother with an inhaler.

My biggest asthma trigger now is my allergies which are seasonal. I think my exercising is what makes them worse--meaning I probably wouldn't have any asthma if I wasnt outside exercising. Luckily, my attacks are mostly mild and typically resting, taking an anithistamine or just cooling off and drinking cold water helps. Other times I need to use my inhaler.  So when it is high season for my allergies I keep my inhaler with me. This past spring was particuarly bad for me.

What you described is something that happens to me when I exercise sometimes when I have cold/sinus infection. It got really bad last year when I battled bronchitis for a long time. I remember being winded just talking after a hard run on the treadmill and then I started getting dizzy.  (right, I am the really smart person who runs while she has bronchitis)

I don't know how they diaganos exercise induced asthma but a trip to a pulmologist might be in order. At the very least they could clear you of any problems or tell you symptoms to look for and give you an inhaler.

Oh and one last thing. My Dad had blood clots in his lungs and he was exercising and just going a long and his only symptom was occasional shortness of breath.

I'm just saying it could be another problem so you would be best to see your doctor.

When I do high intensity training and my heart rate reaches 162 (my anaerobic threshold) my throat feels like it gets too small and I begin wheezing loudly.  It doesn't feel like I am short of breath.  It just feels like I am breathing through a straw that makes a lot of noise.  For years I trained by myself and thought nothing of it.  When I started training with other people they told me that wasn't normal and I should talk to my doctor about it.  My doctor told me it was EIA and prescribed an albuterol inhaler for me.  Before I do any high intensity training or racing I take two puffs and then I am able to do my speed work with no wheezing.   I am glad I talked to my doctor about it.

EIA is also known as reactive airway disease.  Triggers can be environmental, or viral etc.

often it is a cough variant - so when you get a cold or allergy symptoms the airways react with cough or wheezing.....

easy to diagnose - we use spirometers - if I suspect someone has it I do their spirometry, have them go run around the block, come back, repeat and see what change there is, treat them with an inhaler and see if it reverses.

The gold standard is methacholine challenge - which when I almost went into the navy they put me through - and the end diagnosis was what I told them up front - mild to moderate reactive airway disease.  It was a painful and awful test to go through.  they purposely irritate your airways, watch until you cannot breathe then treat you.  really fun.

my triggers: cold air, chlorine, pollens....viruses.  So I mostly use a long acting daily inhaler and 99% of the time use an inhaler preexercise. 

The AMSSM wrote a few articles on the subject:

Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA) - Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

All That Wheezes is not Asthma

Hope it helps.

Definately check it out with your doctor.  I have mild asthma- provoked by exercise, along with my cat, dogs, and dust bunnies.  It wasn't diagnosed until I was an adult, and now I know why I had so much trouble running in high school!  They can do tests- pulmonary function tests or a methycholine challenge, to make the diagnosis.  However your symptoms don't sound typical- asthma affects the small airways of the lungs, and generally cause problems with exhaling, while your description sounds more like trouble inhaling.  I'd get it checked out, especially if you are also having near fainting spells.

EIA happens 'during' exercise vs after. I went to doc/pulmonary guy and tested as mildly asthmatic due to exercise. I was instructed to use an inhaler 15 mins prior to exercise. And also have allergy meds if suffering from nasal drainage.I cough lots and colds, allergies, fatigue, etc.. set it off more than usual. Also, extreme psychological pressures can impact it - so I constantly work to relax especially when running. My last race was an Oly (first) and during the run, I really started to wheeze. I had my inhaler and it seemed to help.

After reading some of the other posts, maybe I need to have this rechecked and/or look into long acting drugs - esp during peak season.

Many, many thanks...

So much good information.  It has not happened since and I have been keeping a close watch, because if it does happen again I will definitely go see my doctor.

Whatever it was I experienced happend AFTER exercise, like a good 20-25 minutes or more.  I had been or feel like I may have been coming down with a little sinus or bronchial type of infection or irritation.

It may have just been a combination of being tired, overheating in the jacuzzi, the chlorine, and having an irritated sinus or bronchial thingy ....

The near fainting came on another day - I didn't look back at my original post that carefully but I think I mentioned the blacking out in another post or a follow-up ... but I think that was probably from not having recently eaten (low blood sugar), overheating in the jacuzzi, having cause my blood pressure to drop low and then standing up too quickly when I got out.

As far as EIA or other form, I was not really wheezing or coughing and it was definitely a breathing in / inhaling problem and not a breathing out / exhaling problem.

Maybe I was just panicking or jumping to conclusions - but it is something I will keep a close watch on.  Hopefully someone else reading this thread can find something helpful from the posts here as you all shared some really good information and personal experiences.

Thanks!