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Asthma that is made worse when exercising is known as exercise-induced asthma. It affects up to 80% of those who are afflicted with asthma. For some, exercise-induced asthma can start within minutes of beginning a physical activity such as sports. But for other sufferers, it happens after they have stopped a physical activity. For still others, it starts during exercise and becomes even worse after stopping a physical activity. Sometimes exercise-induced asthma is mistakenly self-diagonosed as poor conditioning, but a simple test performed by a medical professional can confirm the presence of exercise-induced asthma. Common symptoms are: coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest.
Sports with brief spurts of activity interspersed with rest breaks such as walking, hiking, track/field events, baseball, golf, football, volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics are less likely to trigger exercise-induced asthma attacks. Sports requiring more continuous activity such as swimming, cycling, distance running, and ice hockey are more likely to trigger exercise-induced asthma attacks. However, when the disease is well controlled, people with exercise-induced asthma can usually participate in almost any sport.
When exercise triggers asthma symptoms, the immune cells in the body produce increased amounts of inflammatory molecules called leukotrienes. They are involved in the inflammatory response and cause cause the narrowing of the airways, excess mucus production and tissue swelling associated with asthma.
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| About one out of every five athletes who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta displayed some symptom or previous history of asthma. |
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