Allergy induced asthma?

[BillH0528]

I am a triathlete and have been putting a lot of miles in this spring/summer.  I have been sick many times this spring due to training and my two young kids bringing home everything from school.  I have had a cough for 3 months or so now that will not go away.  It is triggered when I try to breathe deeply.  I feel like I have something in my chest that needs to come up.  I cough constantly during hard training efforts.  I cough less when not training but it is still there.

It is hard to explain but it feels like I can not catch my breath or can not expand my lungs enough.  When I do cough, I get a thick mucus from my chest.  I have taken the breathing test with the nebulyzer and they found nothing wrong.  All they do now is try to medicate me to control the symptoms.  I tried Singulair but the side effects are bad.  I am currently trying Claritin but these solutions do not seem to work.

Anybody else have this issue or suggestions that will make this go away.  To compound things I live at 5200 ft elevation so the oxygen level is even lower than sea level.  I have another big race in October and would prefer to not cough the entire time.

Please help
Bill

[Kelly510]

What kind of Dr. are you seeing? Go to a pulmonologist. If you are getting a thick mucous, then there is definitely an irritant there creating it. Most likely they will place you on Prednisone. Not fun stuff, but it takes away the inflamation.

[crystalfresh]

First is the cough from a problem in side or something you are breathing in? A good test I use is a HEPA filted mask. (the kind you can get in the hardware store with canisters). Wearing that for 5 minutes should clear up the mucus quite a bit if it is something you are breathing in. Easy test and takes only 5 minutes. Try a deep breath with the mask on after 5 minutes and see if you still feel like coughing.

You could also try taking Benadryl and seeing if you can take a deep breath after 25 minutes. But the mask also covers irritants. Both are easy tests.

IF ALLERGY
Claritin probably isn't going to affect the mucus. Very similar but slightly different is Clarinex. Clarinex might slow down mucus if from allergy. You can also try a nebulizer with Sodium Cromolyn soultion. Works in 5 minutes but doesn't last more than a couple of hours. It will slow down the mucus cells that react to allergy.

My allergy is pretty bad from pollens including foods that I eat. But when I go out for exercise I wear a paper mask over my mouth. With a mask I can walk a 12 minute 1/4 mile. With out the mask I walk a 15 minute mile. So you can see how my allergies affect my times.

I'd start with a pulmonologist to clear lung problems or infection. After that might try an allergist.

I also have asthma that only happens when I reach a specific level of exercise and doesn't show otherwise besides allergy induced. Sorry to hear that you are having problems. I now what it feels like. :(