- Some people with asthma only get asthma symptoms at certain times or during certain situations. The common kinds of asthma are exercise-induced asthma, cough-variant asthma, seasonal asthma, and occupational asthma.
- Exercise-induced asthma occurs whenever a person exercises or engages in other heavy activity. You need to get a proper diagnosis to see if your asthma symptoms appear only during exercise. Sometimes, you may have asthma symptoms away from exercise, but you don’t notice them. You can continue your exercise program and do other vigorous activities with a proper asthma management plan. The key is to treat your asthma before you work out
- In cough-variant asthma, the main symptom is coughing, often at night. Your doctor may ask you to monitor your asthma using a peak-flow meter for a two-week period when you are not exercising. This monitoring period will uncover whether you have other asthma symptoms at other times. Once your diagnosis is made, you and your health care provider will tailor an asthma management plan for you.
- Seasonal asthma is asthma that appears only in certain seasons of the year, when pollens and molds are highest in your area. You and your doctor will decide what medications you need to take before and during that particular season in which your asthma appears.
- Occupational asthma accounts for about 2 percent of all cases of asthma. You should suspect that your asthma is job-related if your symptoms disappear whenever you are away from work for several days. You and your health care provider need to confirm that your asthma symptoms occur only at work and are not simply getting worse at work. You and your health care provider should also work together to document that you are showing work-related changes in airflow through your airways. Avoiding triggers, better air ventilation, and use of respiratory protection may help.
If you suspect that your asthma is a “special type,”. Your self-awareness will help you link your symptoms to a certain time of year, the activity you were doing, or, perhaps, your workplace. Fortunately, for each special type of asthma, solutions are available that will help you maintain a healthy and normal activity level.
