Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) refers tobronchoconstriction, the narrowing of bronchi, the main air passages to the lungs, in response to exercise and exertion. A sports-induced bronchoconstriction results in typicalasthma symptoms, such aswheezingand shortness of breath.
Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction often involves underlying chronic asthma, with as many as 90% of people diagnosed with asthma having EIA — but not everyone with EIA has asthma.
This article will help you to better understand what causes exercise-induced asthma and manage symptoms. It offers information about when to see a healthcare provider for more severe symptoms.
What Does Exercise-Induced Asthma Feel Like?
The most common symptoms of exercise-induced asthma are characteristic of all forms of asthma:
In EIA, these symptoms begin during exercise and may become worse 10 to 15 minutes after the activity is stopped. Within 20 to 30 minutes of rest, symptoms usually resolve.
What Causes Exercise-Induced Asthma?
Asthma attacks occur when the muscles of the airways tighten, causing them to narrow. For people with EIA, this bronchoconstriction has to do with moisture and the temperature of the air inhaled during physical exertion.
When you exercise, you tend to take in air more quickly through your mouth than usual. This air is usually colder and drier than air inhaled through the nose, which regulates the temperature and humidity of air before it makes its way to the lungs.
For those with exercise-induced asthma, cooler air isn’t well tolerated. It results in the airways constricting, leading to breathing difficulties.The symptoms may be even more readily induced or severe in people diagnosed with chronic asthma.
Other factors that can trigger EIA and increase the severity of symptoms include exposure to these conditions while exercising:
Exercise-induced asthma occurs in approximately 5% to 20% of the general population, but the prevalence is higher in children and elite athletes.
What to Know About Exercise-Induced Asthma
How to Know If You Have Exercise-Induced Asthma
If you have already beendiagnosed with asthmaand begin to show signs of bronchoconstriction after physical activity, your healthcare provider may diagnose EIA based on your symptoms.
However, because exercise-induced asthma symptoms are similar to those of many other disorders, your practitioner may require other diagnostic evaluations including a complete history, physical examination, and results of pulmonary function testing. The same is true if you are presenting with these symptoms and do not have an asthma diagnosis.
An Overview of Pulmonary Function Tests
Before you begin, healthcare providers will record yourforced expiratory volume (FEV1), the measure of how much air you can exhale during a forced breath. You’ll then exercise until you reach 85% of your expected maximum heart rate. Immediately after you stop exercising, your practitioner will measure your FEV1 again.
If it has dropped 10% or more, you’re likely to be diagnosed with EIA. The test may be repeated to ensure accurate results.
Some healthcare providers may also recommend abronchoprovocation challenge test, in which you inhale saline or another substance and they measure whether or how much your airways constrict. Studies show that these tests can offer results as accurate as exercise tests.
Before confirming a diagnosis of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, your healthcare provider may perform additional tests to rule out other causes of your symptoms, such as:
Is It Asthma or Something Else?
Exercise-Induced Asthma Treatment
EIA is best managed when you work with your healthcare provider to identify, eliminate, and control triggers. For instance, in some cases, you might lower the risk of an episode if you work out indoors or wear a mouth covering when exercising outside in colder weather.
Limiting your exposure to pollution andallergenswhile you exercise can also help.
Medication
Medication may also be required to manage your symptoms. You and your healthcare provider will work together to choose the most effective preventive and acute treatment options, which will mainly be based on whether or not you have a chronic asthma diagnosis along with EIA.
There are three types of medications that are commonly used to prevent or treat EIA symptoms:
Antihistamines, generally, are not helpful in treating exercise-induced asthma but there’s some evidence thatClaritin (loratidine)taken for three days before exercise can decrease symptoms.Leukotriene modifierslike Singulair (montelukast) or Accolate (zafirlukast) may help to prevent exercise-induced asthma from occurring.
Staying Active
While activity is the very thing that triggers exercise-induced asthma, poor physical condition can also increase your incidence of asthma attacks.
Finding safe ways to continue staying physically active can enable you to build muscle strength, boost cardiovascular health,andimprove your lung function. These benefits can protect you against future exacerbations, as well as improve your overall health.
You might consider seeking the advice of a personal trainer with experience working with people with asthma so that you can learn activities that can both advance your fitness and keep your EIA under control.
Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of warming up. Engaging in about 15 minutes of gradually increasing exercise before an intense exercise session can help prevent or reduce EIA symptoms.
In Case of an Asthma Attack
If asthma attack occurs during physical activity, it’s important to act quickly to halt the episode.
Asthma symptoms generally come on slowly and increase over time, and they can actually get worse once exercise stops. But with medication and patience, the episode should pass.
If you feel that your breathing isn’t improving after treatment, seek emergency help immediately.
Why You Need an Asthma Action Plan
Summary
Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) occurs when exercise and exertion lead to bronchoconstriction. This narrowing of the main bronchi moving air to and from the lungs can make it hard to breathe, with symptoms of wheezing and cough. People diagnosed with asthma often experience EIA.
Causes include cold air exposure and a lack of moisture in the airways. Treatment is similar to asthma care, including inhaler use.
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7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.UpToDate.Patient education: Exercise-induced asthma (Beyond the Basics).Anderson SD, Kippelen P.A proposal to account for the stimulus, the mechanism, and the mediators released in exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.Front Allergy. 2023 Nov 6;4:1004170. doi:10.3389/falgy.2023.1004170.Aggarwal B, Mulgirigama A, Berend N.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: Prevalence, pathophysiology, patient impact, diagnosis and management.NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2018;28(1):31. doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0098-2Tan JHY, Chew WM, Lapperre TS, Tan GL, Loo CM, Koh MS.Role of bronchoprovocation tests in identifying exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in a non-athletic population: a pilot study.J Thorac Dis.2017;9(3):537-42. doi:10.21037/jtd.2017.02.70Ullmann N, Mirra V, Di Marco A, et al.Asthma: Differential diagnosis and comorbidities.Front Pediatr. 2018;6:276. doi:10.3389/fped.2018.00276Del Giacco SR, Firinu D, Bjermer L, Carlsen KH.Exercise and asthma: an overview.Eur Clin Respir J. 2015;2:27984. doi:10.3402/ecrj.v2.27984
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.UpToDate.Patient education: Exercise-induced asthma (Beyond the Basics).Anderson SD, Kippelen P.A proposal to account for the stimulus, the mechanism, and the mediators released in exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.Front Allergy. 2023 Nov 6;4:1004170. doi:10.3389/falgy.2023.1004170.Aggarwal B, Mulgirigama A, Berend N.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: Prevalence, pathophysiology, patient impact, diagnosis and management.NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2018;28(1):31. doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0098-2Tan JHY, Chew WM, Lapperre TS, Tan GL, Loo CM, Koh MS.Role of bronchoprovocation tests in identifying exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in a non-athletic population: a pilot study.J Thorac Dis.2017;9(3):537-42. doi:10.21037/jtd.2017.02.70Ullmann N, Mirra V, Di Marco A, et al.Asthma: Differential diagnosis and comorbidities.Front Pediatr. 2018;6:276. doi:10.3389/fped.2018.00276Del Giacco SR, Firinu D, Bjermer L, Carlsen KH.Exercise and asthma: an overview.Eur Clin Respir J. 2015;2:27984. doi:10.3402/ecrj.v2.27984
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.UpToDate.Patient education: Exercise-induced asthma (Beyond the Basics).Anderson SD, Kippelen P.A proposal to account for the stimulus, the mechanism, and the mediators released in exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.Front Allergy. 2023 Nov 6;4:1004170. doi:10.3389/falgy.2023.1004170.Aggarwal B, Mulgirigama A, Berend N.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: Prevalence, pathophysiology, patient impact, diagnosis and management.NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2018;28(1):31. doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0098-2Tan JHY, Chew WM, Lapperre TS, Tan GL, Loo CM, Koh MS.Role of bronchoprovocation tests in identifying exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in a non-athletic population: a pilot study.J Thorac Dis.2017;9(3):537-42. doi:10.21037/jtd.2017.02.70Ullmann N, Mirra V, Di Marco A, et al.Asthma: Differential diagnosis and comorbidities.Front Pediatr. 2018;6:276. doi:10.3389/fped.2018.00276Del Giacco SR, Firinu D, Bjermer L, Carlsen KH.Exercise and asthma: an overview.Eur Clin Respir J. 2015;2:27984. doi:10.3402/ecrj.v2.27984
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
UpToDate.Patient education: Exercise-induced asthma (Beyond the Basics).
Anderson SD, Kippelen P.A proposal to account for the stimulus, the mechanism, and the mediators released in exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.Front Allergy. 2023 Nov 6;4:1004170. doi:10.3389/falgy.2023.1004170.
Aggarwal B, Mulgirigama A, Berend N.Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: Prevalence, pathophysiology, patient impact, diagnosis and management.NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2018;28(1):31. doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0098-2
Tan JHY, Chew WM, Lapperre TS, Tan GL, Loo CM, Koh MS.Role of bronchoprovocation tests in identifying exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in a non-athletic population: a pilot study.J Thorac Dis.2017;9(3):537-42. doi:10.21037/jtd.2017.02.70
Ullmann N, Mirra V, Di Marco A, et al.Asthma: Differential diagnosis and comorbidities.Front Pediatr. 2018;6:276. doi:10.3389/fped.2018.00276
Del Giacco SR, Firinu D, Bjermer L, Carlsen KH.Exercise and asthma: an overview.Eur Clin Respir J. 2015;2:27984. doi:10.3402/ecrj.v2.27984
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