Respiratory and Chest Issues

Abstract

Children with inadequate or poorly controlled asthma may experience extreme difficulty participating in sports and might be prevented from any participation all together. However, when asthma is controlled, these children can go on to be highly competitive, successful athletes. In fact, there are well-known athletes with asthma who are Olympic champions. The ability to participate will always be based on symptoms that the athlete may be experiencing, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, and being easily fatigued. With that said, there are some sports in which environmental factors may pose potential triggers for asthma attacks. The following is a list of such triggers: Cold weather is a known trigger for potential asthma attacks. Therefore, winter sports such as skiing or snowboarding can pose potential challenges for these athletes. Participation in winter sports may be restricted when medical management fails. An outdoor environment may include exposure to pollen and grass, which can easily trigger asthma attacks. These can often be the only triggers for some asthmatics. Knowledge of these triggers can allow the athlete to properly prepare for participation in sports by using the appropriate medication prior to exposure or to switch to indoor training, if possible. Minimizing exposure to possible triggers can be especially advantageous during high-pollen count periods. Indoor swimming pools and ice rinks contain triggers that are by-products of the decontamination of swimming pools (chlorine derivatives) or the combustion end products from ice resurfacing machines (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide). These triggers can lead to increased airway reactivity and possible asthma attacks. For example, elite athletes who spend hours of training in these environments are at higher risk. Some factors that can help to lower the concentration of the by-products in these buildings are having proper ventilation systems and controlling the amount of chlorine or decontamination product that is used. For indoor swimming, the literature is unclear as to what level exposure of the by-product is needed to cause increased airway reaction.