She also discusses peak allergen season, when the pollen count is high. “The dead of winter can be hard, but wearing a buff or balaclava helps with that a lot,” Ginocchio says. I just cannot catch my breath running, sometimes even walking.” Erin is smart enough to walk when her breathing gets out of control. “I feel like I am trying to breathe underwater. She still struggles in heat and humidity. Ginocchio firmly believes that running has helped her asthma, but she is not cured by any means. I always needed to have my inhaler with me, but it became easier and easier with time.” “I would walk halfway, then walk, then start running again when I could. “I started out running halfway around the track,” she said. Erin’s husband Mark, an avid runner, encouraged her to run. Furthermore, she recalls getting notes to excuse herself from any type of running or swimming activities while in school.įlash forward to adulthood. She remembers as a young girl being reliant on both preventative medications as well as the rescue inhaler. She reports that her physician says her lungs seem to have healed.Įrin & husband Mark finish a race togetherĮrin Ginocchio was diagnosed with asthma at age 10 and has used a rescue inhaler since then. Reynolds credits her quitting smoking, becoming a runner, relocation to a better climate, and use of mint tea as a homeopathic remedy for keeping her asthma at bay. Recently, her family relocated to a much warmer climate, and her lungs rarely bother her anymore. Finding herself having coughing fits during cold weather, she relegated herself to just accepting that winter running was perhaps not her thing. Although, she did notice in winter months she was still medication dependent. Reynolds found that she needed asthma medication with far less frequency as she became more serious of a runner. In 2009, she found running, and slowly, her body responded to the exercise. In 2004 she quit smoking, but that alone was not enough to stop her symptoms. She was diagnosed with asthma in 1993 and was given her first albuterol inhaler. Kirsten Reynolds is a former smoker turned athlete. A medical alert bracelet will do that important job for you. In the event of an emergency, you may be unable to tell someone trying to render assistance what your issue is or how to help you. If you have asthma, or any medical issue, you should always, always wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace. Pollen is likely to impact a runner with asthma, so you may wish to run inside on high pollen count days.Īlso, you should shower immediately after running and wash the clothes after each use to avoid pollen collecting on your apparel. In addition to watching the weather, watching the pollen count can be very helpful for a runner with asthma. A Sudden change in your activity level is more likely to trigger an asthma attack. When you have asthma, it is even more important. It is important to warm up and cool down before physical activity. A breathing emergency can go from mild to serious quite quickly without medical intervention. Runners with asthma who have a rescue inhaler should carry it with them while running. This is why runners with asthma are encouraged to be proactive in following the weather, to listen to their physician’s advice, and to take medication as advised. Cold weather, for example, can cause a person to be more likely to have a breathing emergency. Many runners find that different weather triggers different asthma and breathing reactions. Your physician can give you good advice on how to manage asthma. It is important to speak to your doctor before starting a vigorous exercise regiment, especially if you have a limitation like asthma. Tips For Running With Asthma ✓ Talk to Your Physician First Leading an active lifestyle can also help a person to maintain a healthy weight, which can lessen asthma symptoms. It can strengthen the respiratory muscles, which can, in turn, make breathing easier. Running can actually help people to manage their asthma. If you take the proper precautionary measures, many people find that managing running and having asthma to be a very doable proposition. If you have asthma, you may think that running with asthma is an activity you will never be capable of doing.
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