Firdaus Khan
Exercise is a common trigger for asthma and may cause symptoms in 80-90% of asthmatics. Cold dry winter air can also make breathing difficult for asthmatics, which may result in shortness of breath, wheezing, cough or chest tightness. The symptoms can occur during, just after or several hours after exercise, said Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India.
Heart Care Foundation of India released few exercise tips for asthmatics during the winter season.
· Get your asthma fully controlled during winter
· Cooling and drying of the bronchial airways can trigger an asthma attack.
· Avoid strenuous exercise in cold dry air.
· Avoid winter sports, such as skiing, snowboarding, or ice skating.
· Use the bronchodilator inhalers, 20 minutes prior to exercise.
· Keep the inhalers warm in order to avoid a cold aerosol spray.
· "Warm-up" and "cool-down" after strenuous exercise.
· When exercising in cold air, wear a scarf or facemask over the nose and mouth to warm the air one is breathing.
· Prevent drying of the airways.
Drink plenty of liquids before and after exercise to Any breathlessness after the age of 40, appearing for the first time in winter, is cardiac asthma unless proved otherwise. Such patients should immediately have their blood pressure check-up done and if high needs immediate medical attention. First onset breathlessness can also be an indication of angina or heart attack. This was stated by said Padma Shri & Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India. However, the more common is winter asthma or acute exacerbation of winter COPD (chronic bronchitis).

Asthma is reversible airway obstruction and COPD is irreversible airway obstruction. Sudden exposure to cold, humidity, pollution at lower levels in atmosphere can precipitate asthma in susceptible individuals. Winter is the time to increase the dose of asthma medicines.

If a person can speak a full sentence, the asthma attack is mild; if a person speaks broken sentences the asthma attack is moderate and if the person is able to speak only words then the asthma attack is severe. Severe attack of asthma needs immediate hospitalization.

An attack of asthma is due to inflammation, narrowing and collection of fluid in the wind pipe and needs medicines to widen the wind pipe and reduce the inflammation.

The need of asthma medicines can be intermittent and/or permanent. The formula of two becomes handy in such situations. A person who consumes more than two canisters of inhalers in a year or consumes asthma medicines more than twice in the night time in a month or more than twice in a day in a week, he or she needs continuous asthma and anti inflammatory medicines. Inhalers are the best choices.