Asthma And Exercise

Last Updated on 9 years by Publishing Team

It is important to know that exercise is good for children with asthma as long as you know how to manage their asthma well. You should speak to your health professional about the best way to manage this.

Here are some general tips;

• Give your child their medication/reliever before beginning exercise if exercise usually triggers their asthma
• If they already have asthma symptoms, they should avoid the activity until their symptoms improve
• Warming up before exercising is important
• If they show any signs of asthma during the activity, they should stop immediately and treat the symptoms

 

Here are some sports that are good for asthma sufferers;

• Swimming – this is one of the best sports for asthma
• Tennis
• Yoga and martial arts
• Team sports – especially those with lots of stopping and starting, a break in action is good.
• Walking
• Hiking
• Biking
• Gold
• Gymnastics

No sports are off limits just because you have asthma, however, there are some sports that are more likely to trigger asthma;

• Endurance sports like rugby, soccer and long distance running
• Cold weather sports (no skiing trips to NZ!)