Jogging

Hi

I have been asthmatic since I was born and always had problems when I run as I get weasy quite easily. I spoke to a nurse when I went to the asthma clinic and I asked her about jogging as this is something I would love to do but always been put off by the fact that when I run fast I get breathless quite quick. Can jogging be done by just taking your inhaler before and going at a slow pace. Anybody here do jogging and have asthma. My last peak flow reading was 500 if this helps.

Thanks

Ross

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if you are well controlled then theoretically you should be able to do anything you want. however, its not always the case. is 500 good for you? peak flows are all to do with your personal best. for a lot of people 500 is fairly high, and if this is the case for you then its a good indicator of good control, but for me that would be me beginning to get symptomatic! good signs of control are things like no nighttime symptoms, high % peak flow, not needing to use you're reliever, that kind of stuff, but if you are worried best to check it out, your asthma nurse should be able to give you a good idea of how well controlled you are at the moment.

make sure you warm up slowly, and cool down, as this will reduce the chances of you having symptoms, if you begin to struggle then you should stop and take your reliever, and rest until you are feeling right again. build up your exercise levels really slowly if you have not done much in a while, and try not to get frustrated if it takes you a long while. if you have problems you could potentially go back to your GP and step up your meds, as like i say, well controlled asthmatics 'should' be able to exercise. its also worth considering the fact that while the air is so cold out (if you're in the UK) then your airways may be more reactive than they would be in slightly warmer weather. some people find breathing through a scarf helps, or it might be worth starting in the gym (where it'll be much easier to stop and get help if you need it - worth thinking about if you think there is a possibility you will really struggle) or waiting until its a bit warmer outside?

good luck - and if someone could persuade me to be sensible about exercise too that'd be really helpful

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Good advice above and there is plenty of information around the Asthma UK website. Generally it is certainly good to keep up exercise and if it is something you enjoy, that's so much easier. Also, a fair proportion of the UK Olympic team have asthma so it certainly can be done with some thought and preparation. What did your asthma clinic nurse say?