Great swimmers of the past and present have suffered and still suffer from asthma, but this has not stopped them on their path to success.<\/p>\n
Asthma (i.e. chronic inflammation of the airways) is considered to be the epidemic of the third millennium.<\/p>\n
Approximately 6% of children aged 6-8 suffer from it, with the symptoms worsening in case of emotional stress, cold, medication, dust, food and physical exercise.1<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n So, with the help of mathematics, you might think:\u00a0(asthma + exertion)= danger!<\/strong><\/p>\n Well you would be wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n The place where you practice sport plays a crucial role: a warm and humid environment like a swimming pool greatly diminishes the pathology in question. Swimming actually helps reduce bronco-constriction, which is one of the main symptoms of asthma.<\/p>\n If you ask your doctor or your son\u2019s\/daughter\u2019s paediatrician which is the best sport for somebody who suffers from asthma, then the best and most frequent answer will be: swimming.<\/p>\n HOW TO CONTROL ASTHMA:<\/strong><\/p>\n –<\/strong> Take a medical check-up to assess whether you are fit for physical exercise, including a careful test for allergies and asthma.<\/p>\n –<\/strong> Before any strenuous swimming, warm up properly and warm down slowly but effectively.<\/p>\n –<\/strong> Do not enter the water right after meals and\/or taking medicine.<\/p>\n –<\/strong> Avoid swimming in cold water (bearing in mind that the normal temperature of the water in swimming pools should be between 25\u00b0C-28\u00b0C).<\/p>\n Stop any physical exercise if you are suffering from a respiratory infection (flu or cold) and check with your doctor when you will be ready to resume training.<\/p>\n The only inconvenience you might encounter, assuming you are hypersensitive to mildew, might be in the changing rooms where there could be mildew.<\/p>\n But do not worry, because all sports facilities, particularly swimming pools, undergo regular, careful checks by the relevant local authorities.<\/p>\n Do not think for one moment that this ailment will keep you away from sports: a sedentary lifestyle would be more harmful on a bronchial level.<\/p>\n And remember that almost 1-in-10 of the athletes who took part in the Olympics suffers from asthma. 2<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n A SHORT ANECDOTE<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking at the results of the swimming races at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it has been pointed out that 19.3% of the swimmers with a therapeutic use exemption for an inhaler won 32.9% of all the water sports events. 3<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n Definitely a good result for asthma sufferers!<\/p>\n A study carried out by the University of Western Australia <\/em>concludes by stating that swimming is the water sport with most asthma sufferers and more swimmers suffer from asthma than any other endurance athletes.<\/p>\n So asthma is no excuse for not trying out swimming and going back to maths: (asthma + swimming) = victory.<\/p>\n Take a deep breath and dive in ready for our next article.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Great swimmers of the past and present have suffered and still suffer from asthma, but this has not stopped them on their path to success. Asthma (i.e. chronic inflammation of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1362,"featured_media":17644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10072],"tags":[2086,2088,1896],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSources:<\/h5>\n
1 <\/sup>University material from a Pharmacology course.<\/h5>\n
2 <\/sup>Study published by The British Journal of Sports Medicine.<\/em><\/h5>\n
3<\/sup> Study published by the University of Western Australia <\/em>and study by Fitch K., Therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) at the Olympic Games 1992\u20132012.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"