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Inhalers and training

I've been asthmatic all my life, though only need my inhalers usually during hay fever season or if im ill.



Use the preventer morning and night as your doctor said and this should slowly help with the coughing and start preventing it. With the blue one (ventolin) take it running/cycling/swimming with you and use it when you get wheezy or your chest starts to tighten up and it should help the problem almost immediately and be good for a good 30 min/1 hour and then just take as required again during training. As the time you use the brown one (preventer) increases you should find you need the blue one less and less



Hope it clears up soon!

Comments

  • My Doctor has prescribed antibiotics (bronchial) plus steroid and ventolin inhalers, due to recurring chest infections, whilst I wait for a Chest Clinic appointment.

    I can't wait to get this cleared up, as I'm sick ([:D]) of missing training days, and my swimming is becoming dire as my lungs just aren't processing oxygen the way they should.[:@]



    I was wondering what the proper use of inhalers whilst training might be.

    The steroid inhaler is supposed to just be used morning and night, whilst the ventolin is 'as required'.



    Does anyone else use inhalers?

    If so, at what point in your training and how often?



    Cheers[;)]
  • bennybenny Posts: 1,314
    You could be in for something great here;

    Olympic champion Emma Snowsill did have her inhalor with her during the whole Bejing race!

    Prepare to become a champ[image]http://forum.220magazine.com/micons/m6.gif[/image]



    (maybe we should all get one; don't know about the ventolin though: shouldn't it be red instead of blue?[:D])
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    I had exercise-related asthma diagnosed a couple of years ago, after I just happened to say to my doctor "You know how your chest starts to get tight after 20 minutes of exercise?"



    I have the steroid inhaler (brown) and the Salbutomol one (blue). I am nervous about the long term effects of steroids, so I only use the brown one on mornings in the summer (I get hay fever which makes the asthma worse) and on very cold mornings if I am running. Otherwise its a puff on the blue one before exercise and then as required, maximum every 30 minutes.



    I got a second blue inhaler, so in a race I keep one in a small cross-bar pack on the bike, and leave one in transition... a quick puff in T1, use the bike one if required on the course, pick up the other one in T2 and carry it around the run.



    I'd been struggling for years. The first time I used my inhaler before sport was for a 400m swim time trial. Got a PB and felt like I was cheating.



    Just another point: you mentioned problems with your breathing when swimming. Swimming is supposed to be good for asthmatics, since the extra humidity keeps your lungs clear. However, I am fairly certain this only applies to gentle splashing about. If you are going bonkers (like we do) then your intake of Chlorine, and more likely Chloramines, will very possibly be an irritant and make things worse. It was exactly this that caused me to go to the doctor in the first place.



    How clean is your pool? How warm? Is it very busy, especially lots of kids using it? Not saying this is causing your chest problems, but if you do have probs and are also finding it hard in the pool then maybe a word with management might be in order. As always, we discussed this on a thread a loooong time ago. I'll try to find a link and edit my post.



    Mild Asthma isn't a training problem, and it shouldn't slow you down. Benny mentioned Emma Snowsill... I think some plodder called Paula Radcliffe also has asthma, also one of the England tri men (I think).



    Oh, benny: inhalers are colour coded, so you can't have a red one. Sorry. You can probably buy a nice carbon-fibre sleeve to go over it, though. That's going to be quite a bit quicker than blue or brown.
  • woodywoody Posts: 52
    I was diagnosed with asthma in the summer, caused by on over hot pool and high chlorine. Still find hot pools a problem, cold is best, but can't still do hard efforts. I always take the ventolin inhaler with me on the bike/run/swim, not casing to many problems, but this cold air is a major problem, can't do any running/cycling.



    I also use to take the two inhalers (brown and green) twice a day but now that we have worked out what levels of steroids I need, I'm on the purple inhaler which is a combination steriod and long acting bronchial dilator, and rarely now need the ventolin.

  • JohnYJohnY Posts: 6
    Up until quite recently (about a year an a half ago), I had used a ventolin inhaler since I was a child (now 40), allergic and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Don't know if this was coincidence, but I greatly increased my water consumption to keep myself well hydrated, up to about 2 litres a day, more when training. Since then I have barely had to use it.

    Not saying this will work for everyone, but it's a thought.



    A word of advice about the ventolin inhalers. Two side-effects that doctor's don't really mention too much are: it can cause a feeling of apprehension/nervousness.Took me a while to realise this was caused by the inhaler. You will probably have noticed that it causes your heart to speed a bit and causes your hands to shake.

    It also disrupts sleep, so try not to take it too late on in the evening. Again, took me quite a while to realise it was the inhaler that was causing this.

  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    JohnY: I get those side effects from Ventolin, too. Doc says my puff technique was 'too good' (I'm always a perfectionist! LOL) so I reduced down to a single puff. Still have to be careful, though, it can make me feel quite weak and wobbly.
  • Thanks everyone!

    [;)]
  • woodywoody Posts: 52
    I use one of these for my ventolin when running, but also take it to the pool and on the bike now, saves having two lots of ventolin. http://www.habdirect.co.uk/products/Sports_haler-p11510-r666?gclid=CKqFq_Se_5cCFUsa3godPzjXBg
  • agent_tiagent_ti Posts: 306
    you can even get it in red!
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    It looks like something else [;)]
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