I have EIA (exercise induced asthma) I play tennis last night was our minor semi finals which we won, the problem I have is now when I play I take my ventolin before I warm up & play once I start having to run about 10-15min into the game last night I became short of breath had to stop & take my ventolin was hard to get my breath back but finally was able to keep playing I'm starting to become frustrated as I like playing competitive but am feeling let down now with my asthma.
I don't know what to do, as I want to keep playing especially as we are into the finals next week.
Today am feeling tired still little short of breath.
I'm seeing a fill in GP next tuesday as I'm having the flu injection I shall speak to him see what he says.
Any suggestions what I can do to help me get through playing tennis would be much appreciated.
I believe you are entering fall in Australia now and the change in season can have something to do with this change. Do you have allergies that you know of? My asthma gets worse in spring due to pollen and the fall due to mold. Unfortunately allergies are something that can develop whether you have ever had them before or not. Last year around this time was when I first started having problems myself. I only get very mild symptoms like tchy eyes but it does make me much more prone to asthma attacks. Exercise can also draw these irritants into your body more so than your standard activity. Talk to your doctor. Mine gave my Allegra and it has worked wonders in my case or they might suggest over the counter options.
What is your regimen? That is, how many puffs of ventilin and far in advance of a match/any cardio? The typical dosage is 2 puffs, 60 seconds apart, 20 minues before any cardio. If you are not doing it that way, it may be the cause for your attack. My doctor has told me not to use again more than 2 hours later if at all possible. I've been jogging for years doing this and have no problems. I am on a daily preventer also.
Hi Titchou,
I had 2 puffs of ventolin about 1/2 hr before I played that included warming up.
Then I had 1 puff when could not catch my breath waited 4 min then had another puff of ventolin. But now with the weather getting cooler come to think of it could be the cause of my asthma flaring too. It's just that I haven't had an attack for sometime & couldn't remember what it's like my PF's are normal even though today I'm still becoming short of breath.
You might check with your pulmonologist. You may have moved into regular asthma since the cold is affecting it. Also, my doctor cautioned me that the effects of 2 puffs before cardio should last approximately an hour and not to medicate any sooner than that. I ran a 5k that was late starting and so it threw off my timing. By the end of the race, I was beginning to struggle as it was right at an hour after medicating rather than the 45 minutes it should have been from dosing to end of race. You might try moving yours to 15 minutes before rather than 30 minutes.
