I am very fit and exercise regularly but whenever i run in cold ( winter weather) < i cough and choke on lots
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at
12:15 am
of long sticky colourless phlegm that i have to constantly spit out to continue breathing/running ( it is time consuming and uses up alot of my energy, 3 doctors i have seen , dont think its much more than gerd, have prescribed ventolin ( does nutz ), or suggested it may be because of anxiety, but i cant show them the severity of it, and hence i cant get any proper treatment as when i have to blow in one of those things to test lung capacity, my lungs work fine and are very strong , this is affecting my fitness regime and I am only 26
Filed under: Gerd Treatments
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actually what you describe is not so uncommon. winter air is usually dry. combine that with coldness and what results is drying of the airway. result; irritation which causes coughing, a protective mechanism; and increased phlegm production in response to the irritation of mast cells.
moisten your palm, then blow air across it. see how it drys out. same thing is happening with your airways. if you have asthma or bronchitis then this type of irritation could lead to a more severe form of bronchospasm. you say you are healthy otherwise. unless you are experiencing severe chest pain, extreme shortness of breath, and/or prolonged coughing (greater than two or three hours at a time) then most likely just take the ventolin.
there’s not much i know of to prevent this from occuring in someone like yourself who is cold sensitive but you might think of something which would help moisturize the air you breath while running.
by the way, the ventolin works very quietly. just b/c you take it doesn’t mean you will experience immediately relief. just do a couple puffs before exercising and see if that helps prevent some of the coughing attack.
also find an indoor winter exercise like jump rope. 10 to 15 mins of continuous jumping will do what a good 1 to 2 mile run is worth. and since its indoors you might not experience the drying out condition,