Asthma and exercise-induced asthma (EIA) [1] among athletes are common, but athletic performance need not be hindered if your child takes an active role in controlling the condition and follows good practice and control measures. Indeed, if your child has asthma, he or she should be encouraged to exercise as a way to strengthen muscles, improve respiratory health, enhance endurance, and otherwise improve overall well-being.
Asthma is a "chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by variable airway obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness."1 Asthma can be triggered by pollen, dust mites, animal dander, pollutants (eg. carbon dioxide, smoke, ozone), respiratory infections, aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory durgs, inhaled irritants (cigarette smoke, household cleaning fumes, chlorine in swimming pool), particulate exposure (eg. ambient air pollutants, hockey rink pollution), and exposure to cold and exercise.1
Does your child have asthma?
The importance of listening to your child's complaints about breathing difficulties cannot be emphasized enough. The chief complaints are difficulty getting air in and feeling light-headed.
The following are the major signs and symptoms suggesting asthma, as well as the following associated conditions:
If you suspect your child has asthma, you should consult a doctor for proper medical evaluation and to obtain a classification of asthma severity. The evaluation should include pulmonary function testing.
More often than not, asthma is diagnosed using a peak flow meter in a doctor's office, before and after a treatment of albuterol. This is especially helpful if the child presents to the doctor's office with breathing diffulties.
An exercise challenge test is recommended for athletes who have symptoms of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) to confirm the diagnosis.
If the diagnosis of asthma remains unclear after the above tests have been performed, then additional testing should be performed to assist in making a diagnosis. Your child's physician should be encouraged, when possible, to test your child using a sport-specific and environment-specific exercise-challenge protocol, in which the athlete participates in his or her venue to replicate the activity or activities and the environment that may serve to trigger airway hyper-responsiveness.
In some cases, testing for metabolic gas exchange during strenuous exercise to determine fitness should be performed, especially to rule out the diagnosis of asthma or to rule in another diagnosis (eg, pulmonary fibrosis) for a patient with an unclear diagnosis.
Finally, if you have an asthmatic athlete in your family, make sure to take him/her for follow-up examinations at regular intervals, as determined by your child's primary care physician or specialist, to monitor and alter therapy, if necessary. In general, the evaluations should be scheduled at least every 6 to 12 months, but they may need to be more frequent if your child's symptoms are not well controlled.
Revised May 15, 2013
Links:
[1] https://www.momsteam.com/node/3109
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/node/800
[3] https://www.momsteam.com/node/2010
[4] http://www.aaaai.org/nab
[5] http://fast.wistia.com/embed/iframe/62f605a7c6?videoWidth=640&videoHeight=360&controlsVisibleOnLoad=true&autoPlay=true&popover=true&plugin[postRoll][version]=v1&plugin[postRoll][text]=For more youth sports safety information, click here.&plugin[postRoll][link]=http://www.momsteam.com/health-safety&plugin[postRoll][style][backgroundColor]=#080808&plugin[postRoll][style][color]=#3dbdeb&plugin[postRoll][style][fontSize]=36px&plugin[postRoll][style][fontFamily]=Gill Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif&plugin[socialbar][version]=v1&plugin[socialbar][buttons]=embed-email-twitter-googlePlus-facebook&plugin[socialbar][tweetText]=Exercise Induced Asthma: A Primer for Parents
[6] https://www.momsteam.com/users/theteendoc
[7] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/respiratory/asthma/asthma-shouldnt-rule-out-kids-from-sports
[8] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/respiratory/asthma/asthmatic-children-can-play-sports
[9] https://www.momsteam.com/sports/track-field/safety/running-track-with-asthma
[10] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/resources-on-possible-health-effects-to-children-from-playing-on-fields-near-busy-road