asthma and freediving?

[fpernett]

Hi San,
The peak flow meter, even an electronic one, will cost around 20-30 dollars. I don't know where U can get one in Slovenia. But in many health store places on Internet I think you can have one.

[SanSan]

Hi all,

Just came back from another examination at a pulmologyst with some results. Unfortunately I don't have any graphs but my results did get up in just 3 months. My VC got up 3% so i'm above average now by 1% . I also impoved all other results by few %. I was training realy hard for this 3 months and my apnea performaces are getting better and better. Im at 124m DYN now so for all U out there with asthma lots of sports does help if ur asthma is not tirggerd by phisical stress. I was listening a long time to the doctors sayng dont do any sports and missed out on lots of things...

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Paul Kotik

...The physiologist noted ( and I cannot verify this ) that a recent US olympic swimming team consisted almost entirely of asthmatics. ....
...If this is so, then a history of asthma may be associated with anatomical and physiological adaptations which would be an advantage to a freediver.

Alternatively, the USA swim team, their coach or their physician might have found that asthma medication is a permitted performance enhancing drug? At least that is what we always assumed ...they found something within the rules to give them an edge.

Having a close family member suddenly get extremely severe asthma (they had to give up exercise, including swimming & cannot even watch swimming now because of the air round the pool is so damp & chemical filled) -- it seemed laughable that America was fielding an entire team of asthmatics.

By the way, if you ever want to reduce dependency on inhalers -- you might want to investigate the Buteko Method ...used in Russia, US, UK & NZ IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN (don't mess about with asthma -- too dangerous, it can get worse, it can kill) -- although many doctors are unaware of Buteko, there are doctors & nurses around that are familiar with it. A $35 video of the technique (from a Seattle clinic) was sufficient to see dramatic, real improvements & they have an effective technique for clearing a blocked nose & stopping an asthma attack. It is not a cure...but it really works. Part of the theory is that asthmatics hyperventilate because they have insufficient CO2 (not insufficient oxygen) -- apparently, years ago, asthamatics were given a small dose of CO2 rather than oxygen (I have seen oxygen be counter productive). The basic Buteko exercises involve a system of timed breath holding exercises -- so perhaps asthma & freediving can, counter-intuitively, go together.

I have no affiliation with Buteyko I just saw it work. It worked immediately & gave continual improvement -- over a 6 week period the person in question went from 6 double-doses of emergency inhaler a day (plus other medicines) down to 0 emergency inhalers (other medications retained). They learned how to halt an asthma attack (which previously often required ambulance & ER). A change of environment can help too (pollen, mold spores, dust mites, smoke, pollution, etc.). Sea air seems to help us -- not everybody is the same though.

[naiad]

One thing which is important is to avoid cold air, for those who are sensitive to it. I have always disliked cold air, because it causes my nose and sinuses to get congested, and if I breathe through my mouth it causes chest pain.

The 'asthma' episode which I had last year was caused by this. I had flu, and the central heating broke down on the same night. It was a very cold night. Although I wasn't cold all over, I was breathing cold air the whole night, and because my nose was blocked, I had to breathe through my mouth. This caused a burning pain in my chest. The next day the flu was much better, but I now had a severe chest infection. This took months to clear up, and three courses of antibiotics, one of 10 weeks.

I don't have any asthma symptoms now, and I can do everything as normal. Unfortunately my left lung is still not ok, I think it is scarred. I hope it heals eventually.

Lesson learnt the hard way - keep warm, and avoid something if it makes me feel ill. And now I know how to let the air out of the central heating system.

I have noticed that holding my breath relieves sinus congestion. If I have blocked sinuses, and I hold my breath, when it starts becoming difficult my sinuses and nose suddenly unblock. The fact that this happens during the 'struggle phase' suggests that it is caused by high CO2. It is a very temporary effect. Another good side effect of freediving is that I don't get middle ear infections any more.

Lucia

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by naiad

One thing which is important is to avoid cold air, for those who are sensitive to it. I have always disliked cold air, because it causes my nose and sinuses to get congested, and if I breathe through my mouth it causes chest pain.

Interesting. The Buteko method emphasises nose breathing over mouth breathing...perhaps to retain/slow down release of CO2?

Originally Posted by naiad

I have noticed that holding my breath relieves sinus congestion. If I have blocked sinuses, and I hold my breath, when it starts becoming difficult my sinuses and nose suddenly unblock. ...

I believe the Buteko nose clearing technique involves holding the nose (pinched) and rocking the head slowly backwards & forwards. Surprisingly effective I am told.

Glad to hear you are over the asthma. Sounds like you acted incredibly decisively - with the bedding & antibiotics. Best to nip it in the bud if you can. Bleeding a radiator....they should teach that in school, I have fallen fowl of that a couple of times myself. Hope your lung gets better.

[naiad]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

Sounds like you acted incredibly decisively - with the bedding & antibiotics. Best to nip it in the bud if you can. Bleeding a radiator....they should teach that in school, I have fallen fowl of that a couple of times myself.

I researched the problem myself, if I hadn't done so I would still be on inhalers every night, with the dusty mattress and the chest infection!

The doctor prescribed asthma inhalers, despite the fact that I insisted that it was an infection, as it was a localised wheeze and obstruction and not in the whole lung. I mentioned that it was much worse at night, but I was told that this is normal with asthma, so I didn't get any advice about anti-dust mite bedding. The inhaler made the problem worse - the more I used it, the more I needed to use it.

I agree that bleeding a radiator is an essential skill! The worst that can happen is that it starts spouting grey water - messy, but better than the outcome of my cautionary tale!

Lucia

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by naiad

I researched the problem myself, if I hadn't done so I would still be on inhalers every night, with the dusty mattress and the chest infection!

The doctor prescribed asthma inhalers, despite the fact that I insisted that it was an infection, as it was a localised wheeze and obstruction and not in the whole lung. I mentioned that it was much worse at night, but I was told that this is normal with asthma, so I didn't get any advice about anti-dust mite bedding. The inhaler made the problem worse - the more I used it, the more I needed to use it.

I agree that bleeding a radiator is an essential skill! The worst that can happen is that it starts spouting grey water - messy, but better than the outcome of my cautionary tale!

Lucia

Asthma, for us anyway, is/was much worse at night. A person that seems perfectly healthy during the day can turn blue & be in need of urgent ER attention at 1am. Unfortunately new bed, covers, etc. made no difference for us -- nor did getting rid of all the carpets (an expensive undertaking). We ended up moving -- a long way away (tree pollen seemed a major agrivating factor). However some very major surgery was involved along the way. Not for the forum though.

Yes, we noticed emergency inhalers seem to be self perpetuating too (great for the drugs companies) when used regularly. They also seem to make the person act as if they have drunk way too much strong coffee -- heart racing, over excited, flushed. There was some talk of an issue with the propellant too -- it has been changed once or twice.

By the way, be careful with anti-inflammatories & asthma, apparently 20% of asthmatics are highly allergic to NSAIDs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, like Ibuprofen, Asprin, Naproxin Sodium, etc.. We found out the hard way...it came as part of the package with the onset of asthma. A nurse practitioner misdiagnosed the onset of a very severe asthma attack as a panic attack & recommended taking an Advil (Ibuprofen) -- with near fatal consequences.

[naiad]

I agree that breathing problems in general tend to get much worse at night. In my case, there was also the issue of the dust mites, so maybe it was a combination of both. Dust exposure during the day had only a mild effect, but at night it was very bad.

I don't have problems with NSAIDs, but I avoid them anyway because of the stomach irritation issues - I have had an ulcer in the past, and it says on the packet that it is not recommended for people who have had ulcers.

I also had a misdiagnosis of a panic attack, though it wasn't for asthma, it was after an operation. It's an awful feeling to be in real trouble, with people insisting that it is just anxiety.