“It’s normal to breathe faster or more deeply during exercise. But if you have symptoms like coughing, wheezing or a tight chest, it’s likely that exercise and physical activity is an asthma trigger for you. See your GP or nurse for advice about exercising safely.’
Dr Andy Whittamore, Asthma + Lung UK’s GP.
Why is exercise an asthma trigger?
Your asthma is not well-controlled
For most people, if exercise triggers your asthma, it’s a sign your asthma is not as well controlled as it could be.
Find out more about managing your asthma well to reduce your risk of exercise causing asthma symptoms.
Lack of fitness or being overweight
If you have asthma symptoms like wheezing or feeling short of breath during exercise, it could be due to general lack of fitness or being overweight.
There are lots of simple ways to start getting more active and maintain a healthy weight.
Find out more about safe ways to build up your activity levels or sign up to our free Feel Good Fridays sessions. We also have advice on staying a healthy weight.
Exercise-induced asthma
If your asthma is well controlled, but triggered by exercise, you may have ‘exercise-induced asthma.’ Your GP or nurse can review your asthma medicines to support you to exercise safely.
Some people get tight airways and asthma-like symptoms when they exercise, even when they don’t have asthma. This is called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
Always talk to your GP or nurse if you’re worried about your breathing when you do activity or exercise.
Breathing in through your mouth
When we exercise, we tend to breathe through our mouth more than our nose. This means the air we’re breathing in is not moistened or warmed up.
For some people with asthma, breathing in colder, drier air can cause the airways to tighten and get narrow.
This can trigger asthma symptoms like coughing, wheezing and breathlessness.
Other triggers when you exercise
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if your symptoms are caused by exercise itself, or by another trigger that you come into contact with when you exercise.
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If you exercise outside, pollution and pollen may trigger your asthma symptoms.
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If you’re exercising in a gym, or doing exercises on the floor, dust could trigger your symptoms.
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If you only get symptoms when swimming, it could be that your asthma is triggered by chlorine in the pool.
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Hot weather, cold weather, and sudden changes in weather can trigger asthma symptoms for some people too.
It can help to keep a calendar of your symptoms so you can start to see patterns. Pollution or pollen or cold weather could be your triggers, rather than exercise itself.
Dr Andy Whittamore, Asthma + Lung UK’s GP.
Always carry your reliever inhaler
Always carry your reliever inhaler with you so you can quickly treat asthma symptoms or an asthma attack.
How can I exercise safely with asthma?
If you’ve noticed your asthma symptoms are worse when you’re exercising, or you need extra doses of your reliever inhaler, speak to your GP or nurse.
They can:
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review your asthma medicines
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check your inhaler technique
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update your asthma action plan
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prescribe add-on treatments for example a long-acting bronchodilator medicine (LABA) or montelukast if your symptoms are only triggered by exercise
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help you to manage other triggers you may come into contact with when exercising
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give advice about exercising safely at the right level for you and maintaining a healthy weight.
Steroid preventer inhalers
If you have a preventer inhaler or a MART inhaler, use it every day as prescribed to lower your risk of asthma symptoms triggered by exercise.
Your preventer or MART inhaler prevents your airways from getting inflamed. This means you are less likely to react to cold, dry air or allergens like pollen when you exercise.
More advice on keeping active with asthma
Find out why keeping active with a lung condition can be good for your lungs and reduce your risk of symptoms.
You can also watch our free keep active video programme and use our keep active handbook to help you exercise at a level that is right for you, even if you have difficult to control or severe asthma.
We also have information about pulmonary rehabilitation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is an exercise and education programme for people with lung conditions.
Get support
Call our Helpline for support with your condition. Get advice on your medicines, symptoms or travelling with a lung condition, or just call us to say hello.