Difficulty Breathing During Intense Extercise

[Triathlon_Man]

Hi,

I'm a 26yr old male and I've been extremely active all my life, I eat fairly health and don't smoke and rarely drink. I consume around 3-5 litres of water a day and spend a lot of time exposed to the outdoors (either walking or riding a motorcycle). I've never had an allergic reaction to anything.

Recently I've had a break in training for about 4.5 months and I'm trying to get back into training for triathlons but I've been suffering really bad. My throat become tight and I struggle to breath both in and out, this is a problem I've always had but I could usually endure it lately it has forced me to stop training and today durring a run session I was struggling so much that I had my phone in hand wondering if I will need an ambulance.
I have been able to discover that this "attack" only occurs when I hold by heart rate over 170 for around 10mins, once it happens I'm forced to stop my activity and can get my breathing back under control after 2-3 mins but I'm unable to continue exercising as it just triggers another "attack". After this problem I start to spit up a clear mucus for around an hour, after the hour I feel back to normal and have no real problem breathing and have never had a problem during day to day activities or light exercise.

A fellow coach (I'm a swiming coach) that I talked to said it sounds a little like asthma. Would it do any harm to try a reliever puffer when my problem occurs ? (I have access to unused reliever puffers that are kept in my first aid kit at the pool)

Thanks.

[Victoireh]

You really should consult a doctor on this first. I'm sure that your doctor will either prescribe you an inhaler to try (they're cheap), or he prefers to run some tests first. I agree it does sound like asthma. I have horrible problems trying to run outdoors in winter time as it sets my asthma off royally. In the summer I can run like the wind. I have severe asthma and am not able to get complete control of my asthma, so intense exercise like running is out for me. Although I am like you and tend to drive myself too hard while running, which only aggravates it further. You might need to take your training indoors, if this indeed is exercise induced asthma that is triggering your symptoms with running. Warm indoor air is easier on asthmatic lungs.

Also there are other drugs available for exercise induced asthma that will allow you to perform at your peak, if the ventolin doesn't give the complete relief you need.  Like I said, see your doctor about this, so you can get the best treatment.

[Triathlon_Man]

I'll definatly be seeing my GP as soon as I can, but I'm away at the moment. I though getting a head start on the docter wouldn't be a bad thing as from what I have read they often seem to miss diognose respiratory problems and have people testing all kinda of medication.

[hava]

You are active, so you will have no problem doing all this.This is better than puffers.
The Yoga Pranayam (breathing exercises) will  help with asthma type  problems.
Build up your timing gradually. If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after 1 minute.

Bhastrika - Take a long deep breath into the lungs(chest not tummy) via the nose and then completely breathe out through the nose. Duration upto 5 minutes.

Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 10 to 30 minutes twice a day. Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.

Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

Bhramri Pranayam -Close eyes. Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three fingers on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in through nose. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee.
Duration : 5 to 12  times

Once you are better, continue the pranayam once a day.
Be patient, as the benefits will show over a period of weeks.Only by doing you will benefit
and feel good because you are helping your body.