Keeping fit with Asthma

I love to swim but the cold makes asthma worse. Looking for healthy activities to keep chest clear.

[Hidden]

My usual form of exercise is dance (ballet in my case). Done inside in the dry and warm and excellent for all round fitness as well as being good for co-ordination and exercising the brain

[Beth_19]

I've taken up pilates and its been great. There is a lot of focus on breathing and muscle control.

[elanaoali in reply to Beth_19]

Pilates I agree is brilliant. I took up Pilates 2 years ago when another health condition stopped me from doing aerobics. I try to fit in at less two classes a week.

[Emily-G]

Yoga or occasional Pilates (need to do more often) are what works for me. I'd love to try ballet tho.

Swimming is bad for me - the chlorine in the pool triggers horrible reaction.

Hope you find something that works for you xxx

[Hidden in reply to Emily-G]

Chlorine triggers an allergic response in me as well? If I'm lucky I'll just end up with streaming rhinitis - but I have had an asthma attack in a pool before.

[Emily-G in reply to Hidden]

My first big attack was at school swimming years ago. PE teacher had to dive into the pool to drag me out.

These days even being in the building breathing the fumes can set me off, I come out in hives, my chest and sometimes throat close up, I avoid it completely if I can.. (Luckily my husband takes my kids swimming)

Allergies are a pain xxx

[Hidden in reply to Emily-G]

Oh golly yes! With me it's my eyes that start to prickle the moment I smell the chlorine. I have coped in an outdoor pool (the fumes are nothing like as bad), but when it came to swimming I had to be very careful that my eyes and nose stayed well above the water.

[runnerwithasthma2559]

Hello Sids

I can relate to what you are saying. Cold air makes my asthma worse too. Exercise is important to me too. I run and swim. When the air gets cold, I run indoors on a treadmill.

I have to be very careful not to run too much, especially in the spring and fall. Too much running and running too vigorously in the fall and spring can bring on a bad asthma attack.

I'm just getting over one.

You may be interested in my book, "Running with Asthma: An Asthmatic Runner's Memoir."

It is available on amazon.com. I think I've encountered just about every problem related to exercise and asthma. I've developed strategies to deal with the problems related to exercise and asthma.

I'd love to know how things are going with your exercise program. You can email me at [e-mail].

Yours for better breathing,

John Terry McConnell