Tips on How to Exercise If You Have Allergies and Asthma

The myth that asthma limits physical abilities is not true. Exercise is an important activity for our everyday life and people with allergies and asthma are usually able to exercise. Research has also shown that regular moderate exercise as part of a professionally guided programme of asthma management helps prevent asthma attacks. Exercise should however, not be done during times of sickness.

Here are some tips to help you prevent asthma and allergy attacks during exercise:

1. Pack your medicine in your gym bag: The type of medication will depend on your condition- either allergy or asthma. People with allergies may take antihistamine tablets before the activity while those with asthma can use the inhaler before the exercise. If you take the medication 15 minutes before the exercise, you should be all right.

2. Consider your environment and the weather: For those who have dust mite allergy, you may consider exercising outdoors because of household mites but those who are allergic to grasses or weeds should consider an indoor location during certain seasons.

Check that the air is not too cold or too dry. This can irritate the bronchial tubes. Warm, moist air generally allows people with asthma to exercise successfully. Do all you can to avoid exercising in areas with large amounts of chemicals. Industrial areas are a perfect example, or heavy traffic areas with high levels of exhaust fumes. Keep indoor exercise free of irritating odours.

3. Participate in exercises that require shorter bursts of exercise: these exercises tend to cause less trouble than those that involve long periods of running. For people with asthma, swimming is the ideal exercise. This is because, with the high humidity, you mouth won't dry out. Baseball, tennis and golf is also good.

4. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth: If you open your mouth to gasp for air when exercising hard, you are drying out the back of throat and it becomes cool, which triggers your asthma. So keep your mouth closed and breathe through your nose.

5. Take time to warm up: It is recommended that you should not push yourself beyond your capabilities. Begin your exercise programme carefully. Take time to warm up and then start out slow but steady. Starting out fast will make you wear out fast.

6. Take precautions seriously: For those who have insect sting allergies, here are some tips if you are exercising outdoors.

Do not wear bright coloured clothing, cologne, perfume or lotion.

- Wear a medical warning bracelet.
- For emergency treatment, carry a syringe with adrenaline.
- Make sure your exercise location is close to a healthcare facility.
- Avoid areas such as flowerbeds and trash cans where wasps and bees like to hide.

Your understanding of your health conditions will give you the ability to fight them off before they attack. You also can easily treat them with little or no complications. Having suffered fro symptoms of allergies for over 12 years and finally getting a breakthrough in the treatment, Oyinlola Akinsanya shares her experience with others suffering from allergies and sinus infections at http://allergycureonline.blogspot.com/.

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