The only difficult thing about asthma is that it can be very limiting to the activities that you will be able to do.

Even light exercises sometimes can trigger flare-ups and attacks leaving you frustrated or angry. But this is no reason to deprive yourself of that much needed physical activity. You only need to determine the symptoms of exercise induced asthma so that proper action can be taken before things can get worse allowing you to continue with your regimen. Here are some of the classic exercise induced asthma symptoms that you might come across during your workout:

Coughing: When you start coughing in the middle of your exercise it is probably a sign that your body is barely catching up with trying to oxygenate itself properly. Taking a few puffs from your inhaler and setting breaks in between may take care of the problem.

Getting winded or easily tired: If you feel that you are beginning to drag yourself or find it more difficult to catch your breath during exercise then it would be a good idea to pause for a minute or so and take your reliever medication right away as it may already be a symptom of exercise induced asthma.

Chest tightness: Feeling tight in the chest or retracted muscles in the neck is one of the most common signs that your body is already feeling pressure from lack of oxygen. If you start to experience this symptom during your workout, take a short break immediately as this symptom is the closest that you can experience before a full blown attack occurs. Take your medication and pace things down a bit when continuing.

Slight to heavy wheezing: Wheezing is the most common among the list of asthma symptoms. When your breathing starts create that classic “whistling” sound during exercise you probably shouldn’t ignore it.

There are many reasons why you are experiencing exercise induced asthma including changes in the temperature, differences between the way you breathe while at rest and during exercise, and even the level of humidity in the air. Taking your inhalers or bronchodilators 15 to 20 minutes before exercise prevents the airways from contracting and can control and prevent symptoms and attacks from happening for as long as 4 to 6 hours. Talk to your doctor about other steps that you can take to minimize or totally prevent exercise induced asthma symptoms from appearing during your regimen. They will be able to provide you with ways and alternatives that you can take in order to successfully finish your workout without any hitches and glitches.