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Many people, including myself, have trouble exercising in cold weather. So, you know,
you go outside, you know, for a run outside in the freezing cold and the cold air causes
you to have coughing fits. Or, perhaps you get a sore throat. If that happens to you,
you're not alone. Many of us have the same problem. In fact it's estimated that anywhere
from 4 to 20% of people have this complaint. The actual cause of it has not always been
agreed upon, but for many years, the prevailing theory was that this was caused by exercise-induced
bronchioconstriction or EIB. That is a which is a narrowing of the airways that's much
like an asthma attack, but in this case brought on by cold air. Now, EIB is, of course, common
in people with asthma, and it's actually sometimes called exercise-induced asthma. However, many
of the sufferers of EIB have no history of asthma. And EIB is also more common in children
and young adults. In fact, I used to get severe sore throats from running in the cold when
I was young and that doesn't happen to me now that I'm older. And it's hard to say why
that is. Um, the higher incidence of EIB in young...in the young...may simply relate to
their higher levels of physical activity. That makes sense: I used to run everywhere
when I was a kid. I never stopped running. Uh, and, the symptoms of it, ah, just so you
know what I'm talking about, include wheezing, or shortness of breath, a feeling of tightness
in your chest, and hypoxia, which is just not getting enough oxygen. Um, being out of
breath. Sometimes, however, the only symptom is a cough and a sore throat, like I was talking
about before. EIB theory has been the main theory for many years, but it's been debated.
EIB claims that it's the cold that causes the problem, but others have claimed that
it is the dryness of the air, not the coldness, that causes the problem. You know, when it
gets very very cold outside, the air becomes very dry. Perhaps this dries out the airways
and irritates them, leading to the symptoms. A study in the Journal "Chest" by Kenneth
Rundell and others tested this idea by using dry medical-grade bottled air, at both cold
and room temperature. So, they had 22 people with suspected EIB exercise while using this
air. Turns out the temperature of the air didn't cause a heightened response, so the
researchers concluded that moisture loss due to the air was the cause of the problem...due
to the dry air. So, the cells of the airways are very sensitive to dehydration. I'll link
that study below, in the description. If the cold dry air is drying out the cells of your
airway and causing this coughing or sore throat, or tight chest, or other symptoms, the question,
of course, is should I be worried? You know, should I avoid exercising in the cold in case
I'm doing permanent damage? Well, unless the problem is very severe, it's not really going
to hurt you and you can finish your workout, your run, out in the cold, ah, without fear
your lungs are going to be damaged. Rundell suggested that there are some homemade solutions,
you know like, you could wear a moistened scarf or other cloth around the mouth to hydrate
the incoming air. Now this sounds terrible to me out in the cold, but maybe for somebody
who must train for their sport in the cold and is having this problem, it's necessary.
I can't see casual exercisers doing that. Ah, there are also masks that could be worn.
Again, wearing a mask out in the cold while you exercise sounds terrible to me, but, for
some people, maybe. Ah, medications, for severe problems, could also be used. You know, but
athletes like skiers and runners, they may need to consider the state of legality for
steroid asthma meds, or inhalers, or similar medications. You know, the legality in their
sport. The take home, though, is that unless your symptoms are very severe, you're OK to
just go ahead and exercise out in the cold, and con... and consider the symptoms, when
they occur, to be an irritating inconvenience, but not much more. I do want to remind you,
though, that this should not be taken as medical advice. I'm just giving you the information,
ah, to the best of my ability, that we have. But, anytime you have symptoms, you have doubts
about whether you should exercise, you should always consult your doctor and get his or
her take on it, before you do go out and run, or ski, or what have you, in the cold.