Generally, children with asthma feel good they are active that by participating in school physical practices in school and over the weekend at home. Experts argue that at the initial stage exercise helps to identify the condition of the child by bringing out the symptoms of asthma which are like cough and dyspnea and also the chest tightness which is easily noticeable. Exercise is believed to the most cause of asthma in children. Hence it should be looked into when being conducted by children who are asthmatic in that case. Therefore, exercise is believed to be the most reason that keeps the asthma children active regardless of what they are living but if they engage in any sports which acts as a body exercise.
Parents are always in shock when they know that their children are suffering from the asthmatic condition which many do not accept readily. Children may mention shortness of breath while playing, chest tightness or difficulty in breathing in the air the reason which takes over their daily activity. Parents are typically not aware of the child’s respiratory symptoms in the school gym as most teachers spend much time with the child. Further inquiry may reveal symptoms associated with activities at home or with sports when they are exposed to the exercises.
Exercise and asthma affected children are bound to have many practices which will make sure they are always active. Most of the theories are trying to explain why this happens and the measures that will be taken to make sure that the kid is well protected when the issue is discovered. They are saying that many parents do not have that heart of acceptance to see what will be next for their children. They live a denial life and later the problems causes more harm than good. Exercises allow children to have excellent breathing system which is also the measure of testing if the child is asthmatic or not.
The problem is mostly in children, and it has several symptoms which can be seen at the early stage by the concerned parent or guardian. The most common issues are cough, wheeze, difficulty breathing, chest “tightness,” and chest pain which are easily noticed from the beginning. Almost all children with asthma will have one or more of these symptoms when they have a cold or with exercise. Exercise is likely the second most common trigger of asthma; however, it is often overlooked unless carefully sought. Symptoms may first appear when the child participates in gym activities in school. After establishing that the school-age child participates in gym classes, the best question directed to the child from the physician is, “What happens when you run fast around the gym?”. The parents often express surprise when the child answers, “I cough.” The child may mention shortness of breath, chest tightness or difficulty “breathing air in,” which limits their activity. Tightness in the throat may suggest vocal cord dysfunction (VCD). Parents are typically not aware of the child’s respiratory symptoms in the school gym. Further inquiry may reveal symptoms associated with activities at home or with sports.
The cause of asthma is unknown. Genetics may play a role—children are more likely to have asthma if other people in the family have asthma. However, many children with no family history of asthma have asthma. Asthma is also more common in children with allergies, and their diet is not good at all. However, some children with allergies do not have asthma, and some children with asthma do not have allergies. Exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke or pollutants makes children more likely to develop asthma.
For the older child, the association between exercise and respiratory symptoms becomes clearer. The activities that provoke these symptoms are, quite predictably, those causing prolonged, rapid breathing. Typical examples are distance running and soccer. For some children, figure skating, ice hockey, cross-country skiing, paddling, cycling, and dancing can be problematic. Activities that rarely cause symptoms include volleyball, downhill skiing, softball, baseball, and taekwondo. These activities do not require prolonged, rapid breathing. Be aware that running laps around the field before a ball game or the gym before taekwondo may provoke asthma symptoms. Specific activities have a variable effect, such as basketball – which is usually not a problem for the younger asthmatic child, but which may be troublesome for the older, more competitive player.
Gymnastics can occasionally cause symptoms, but only if the activity requires prolonged, rapid breathing. Swimming has often been recommended for asthmatic children because the business is conducted in the warm, moist environment of an indoor pool. The author has seen many competitive swimmers with asthma and, although they may have no symptoms with practices, races can be troublesome. In some cases, the symptoms may be more bothersome with a particular stroke. The asthmatic child whose symptoms are worse in a specific pool may be reacting to the organic chlorine chemicals.
The post-exercise decrease in the peak expiratory flow rate of healthy children may be as much as 15%; therefore, only a reduction of more than 15% should be viewed as diagnostic. EIA is usually provoked by a workload sufficient to produce 80% of maximum oxygen consumption; however, in severe asthmatics, even minimal exertion may be enough to produce symptoms. Patients with normal lung function at rest may have severe airflow limitation induced by exercise, 10 and as many as 50% of patients who are well-controlled with inhaled corticosteroids still exhibit EIA. A challenge of sufficient magnitude will provoke EIA in all patients with asthma. PHARMACOLOGIC THERAPY: Exercise, unlike exposure to allergens, does not produce a long-term increase in airway reactivity. Accordingly, patients whose symptoms manifest only after strenuous activity may be treated prophylactically and do not require continuous therapy. Most asthma medications, even some unconventional ones such as heparin, furosemide, calcium channel blockers, and terfenadine, given before exercise, suppress EIA. McFadden accounts for the efficacy of these diverse classes of drugs by their potential effect on the bronchial vasculature that modulates the cooling or rewarming phases of the reaction. Short-acting -agonists protect 80% to 95% of affected individuals with insignificant side effects and have been regarded for many years as first-line therapy. Two long-acting bronchodilators, salmeterol, and formoterol have been found useful in the prevention of EIA.18-21 A single 50-microg dose of salmeterol protects against EIA for 9 hours; its duration appears to wane in the course of daily therapy. Cromolyn sodium is highly effective in 70% to 87% of those diagnosed with EIA and has minimal side effects. Nedocromil sodium provides protection equal to that of cromolyn in children. Children commonly engage in unplanned physical activity and sometimes are not allowed to carry their medication. Thus, a simple long-acting regimen given at home is likely to be more effective than short-acting drugs that must be administered promptly. Although the 12-hour protection by salmeterol reported by Bronsky et al. may not persist with continued use, the 9-hour duration of action is.
Doctors advise that the following should be done to prevent the condition and are just a proposal;
1. Warm up. Brief warm-ups dilate bronchial tubes. Try a few natural, five-minute exercise periods before you set out to run.
2. Use an inhaler. Twenty minutes before you run, take two puffs of a muscle-relaxant spray drug, or bronchodilator. Ask your physician to prescribe a bronchodilator for EIA.
3. Drink coffee. A cup or two of coffee or tea before you run can help dilate your bronchial tubes.
4. Find your time. If your asthma is worse in the morning, run in the afternoon. But also consider this: Pollen can worsen EIA, and pollen counts tend to be highest in the afternoon and early evening.
5. Breathe warm air. Try breathing through your nose as much as possible instead of through your mouth. Covering your nose and mouth with a scarf or ski mask helps warm the air.
6. Get away from pollution. Cigarette smoke, smog and auto exhaust can worsen exercise-induced asthma.
7. Get fit. The fitter you get, the less air you need for a given physical task, because your cardiorespiratory system grows more efficient, resulting in less strain on your bronchial tubes and less EIA.
8. Get a second opinion. If these tips don’t take care of your EIA, see your doctor for instruction on how best to use an inhaler or a “spacer,” or for a prescription for another type of Broncho dilating drug.
There are three types of medicines to prevent or treat the symptoms of EIB. Your health care provider can help you find the best treatment program for you based on your asthma history and the type of activity.
• Short-acting beta-agonist / bronchodilator:
This medication can prevent symptoms when taken 10 to 15 minutes before exercise. It will help prevent symptoms for up to four hours. This same medication can also treat and reverse the symptoms of EIB should they occur.
• Long-acting bronchodilator:
This needs to be taken 30 to 60 minutes before activity and only once within 12 hours. Salmeterol can help prevent EIB symptoms for 10 to 12 hours. This medication is for preventing symptoms. It does not offer any quick relief, so it not for treating symptoms once they begin.
• Mast cell stabilizers:
Cromolyn sodium or nedocromil sodium need to be taken 15 to 20 minutes before exercise. These medications may also help to prevent the late phase reaction of EIB that some people experience. These medications are only for preventing EIB because they do not relieve symptoms once they begin. Some individuals use one of these medicines in combination with a short-acting bronchodilator.
Several viruses can be blamed for triggering viral-induced asthma. Two typical examples are the rhinovirus which causes the common cold, and influenza which causes the flu. These viruses are most frequently found to cause bronchospasm and asthma.
Another virus linked to asthma is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause respiratory infections in adults and children. In children, RSV can cause wheezing, particularly in children under two years of age, which can lead to hospitalization and even death in rare cases. This increase in airway sensitivity in children caused by RSV can sometimes linger long after the infection has been cleared.
In adults, RSV can cause wheezing and induce asthma symptoms in those who already have asthma, and in people with no history of asthma. The good news is that, unlike in children, the airway functioning in adults generally returns to normal much sooner, although it can still take a few months.
It’s interesting to note that because these types of viral infections are more common during certain times of the year, viral-induced asthma cases tend to wax and wane with the seasons. For instance, rhinovirus has a peak season in late fall and influenza A peaks in late winter. RSV is most common in the winter months, with a peak season from January to February in the Northern Hemisphere.
Diagnosis
Many people with persistent asthma can sense when their symptoms are worsening. However, it’s a good idea for people with asthma to have a peak flow meter, which is a small device that you blow into to measure how well the lungs are functioning. This is because it’s possible to have a significant decrease in peak flow numbers without having similar symptoms.
If you notice a significant decrease in peak flow numbers, as compared to your usual levels recorded daily, call your physician for advice about increasing asthma medications or seeking medical attention.
A physician should be able to diagnose viral-induced asthma in those who do not have a history of asthma by listening to the lungs. The doctor may also perform a nose and throat swab or take a sputum sample to detect whether a virus is present.
Many physicians have peak flow meters in their offices, which can be used to diagnose airway obstruction. If the person hasn’t been monitoring his peak flow at home, the doctor can compare the patient’s numbers to what would be predicted for someone of the same sex, age, and size.
At present, there are no effective medications to treat these common viruses and prevent the asthma attacks they may provoke. The best treatment is prevention, and the four practical ways to do this include: Getting a flu shot every year, frequent hand washing with soap and water, Limiting contact with people who have upper respiratory symptoms and Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, which is how viruses are spread
Sure children in high-risk groups (for example, infants born before 35 weeks of gestation or infants with chronic lung disease) are now given a preventive medication called Synagis. This medication is an antibody against RSV and has been shown to decrease the rate of hospitalizations associated with RSV.
Treatment for viral-induced asthma may include bronchodilators for mild symptoms and steroids for more severe or prolonged attacks. Steroid inhalers are useful for treating adults without asthma who have asthma-like symptoms after a viral infection. However, in the absence of any history of asthma, these symptoms generally go away in eight weeks or less. For severe viral-induced bronchospasm, oral steroids may sometimes be necessary, even in people without a history of asthma.
People with asthma are not more susceptible to viral infections than others, but they experience lower airway effects from these infections. Getting a respiratory disease does not mean you will definitively have an asthma attack. Often, more than one trigger leads to an attack—like infection along with environmental exposures such as smoking or exposure to an allergen.
In the end, the best thing you can do is to try to optimize your overall health. Use tactics including eating nutritiously, exercising, seeing your primary care physician regularly, staying up to date on your vaccines, not smoking, and keeping your stress at bay