Asthma and Running

Today, I got into a discussion with a friend who recently tested as being allergic to dust mites. That finally got me started on this blog I have been meaning to write for a long time about asthma and running. Almost everyone knows the benefits of exercising on a regular basis. There is enough material online, with detailed information about how running can benefit us in so many ways. I am just here to tell my story, specifically in relation to asthma.

There was a time, a long time ago I suppose when I used to work out without knowing I was working out. Let me rephrase. As kids growing up in the sprawling campus of IITB, we would easily walk 5-6 kms a day, bike, swim at every given opportunity. 

I remember the year I got introduced to swimming, we used to swim mornings and evenings. Then 10th grade happened, studies took over, which meant many hours sitting at one spot, munching something or the other while studying, etc. This continued for a few years, till we got past 12th grade, started relaxing a bit with college life and realized that those few years of not being active had taken a toll somewhere.

A friend and I then got into more structured workouts..training under the IIT athletics coach. We got into a habit of running 5-6 kms almost everyday, followed by more than an hour of detailed stretching and floor exercises. Those by far, were the most perfect years of my life. We would happily spend hours working out late into the evenings, lying down on the grass staring up at the twinkling stars after a good workout every evening. We weren't doing anything phenomenal by athletic standards, but the results of working out slowly started showing.

My friend moved away, I got busy with further studies, subsequent marriage, a new job, a new country, etc. I worked out, albeit sporadically, or long periods of "not at all". I didn't "think" of the impact of long hours of working on my laptop day in and day out. I was busy with my life, I suppose.

We still managed to do fun "active" stuff, like rollerblading, heading out for hikes when we could. But I had no dedicated time to workout. I was no longer the person who could run 5-6 kms a day with ease.

Then of course the natural progression to a mother of two, along with continuing to work in IT ensured that I practically had no time to breathe, let alone exercise. We had moved to Bangalore by then, and I was at wits end trying to keep everything together. Exercise was the last thing on my mind. I was always tired. By 8 in the night, I would be ready to crash. There were times when I slept for an hour or so, managed to wake up just in time to have dinner, then manage a call or two with colleagues across in the US.

Allergies and asthma related issues had started surfacing slowly but surely. These issues had started in the last year of our stay in the US, but started making huge waves in Bangalore. Many folks I knew had allergies, asthma. Most blamed it on Bangalore weather, dust, pollen, parthenium, seasons, etc. I got to a stage once where I ended up hospitalized due to a really bad asthma attack. The usual nebulizer with the doc did not do the trick and 6 hours later, was in the hospital.

No wake up call happened then. Life went on. I learnt to manage my asthma better, which meant I learnt to rely on inhalers mornings and evenings or when an attack looked imminent. Two years of constantly being on inhalers, trying one homeopathic medicine after another to the point that I no longer had the will to continue to actively manage my asthma.

All these years, P had been quietly running, building up from 10 K to a half marathon, to finally a full marathon. Somewhere along the way, I realized I wanted to be running again. Started slowly, and would like to say that I have been running not too much, but running reasonably frequently the last couple of years. And the most miraculous thing that has happened has not been the weight loss or the endurance or the increased energy. The greatest benefit has been the almost complete freedom from asthma attacks. To have come this far from a stage where I was constantly using my inhalers to "breathe normally" to an almost 99% asthma free state is nothing short of a miracle. And I credit only running to this.

Why running? Why not any other exercise? I run about 5 km each time, about 3-4 times a week.  Not much. But compared to other forms of cardio, running leaves me bathed in sweat, literally. My very strong belief is that running combined with profuse sweating clears my body of built up environmental toxins or other allergens. These, when left in the body and when accumulated over time trigger asthma and other allergic responses in the body.

I have no basis to prove my theory. Except that, for the first time in 7 years, I have not touched my inhaler except just once recently when travelling. I rest my case.

Run some. Run more!

Addendum: 08-Oct: I did a little bit of a rethink, and wanted to say that maybe I am a bit biased towards running, but any exercise that gets the sweat pouring and heart rate up is basically good, not just running. For me, the running culture around me, with a substantial population of my friends running half marathons and full marathons is something inspiring, and one day do aspire to go to that level. Till then, sweat it out everyday, keep asthma away is my mantra.