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28/01/2009 10:39:05 AM
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Bryan McIntyre
Posts 5
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Hi Folks,
After racing each event at the Track on Australia Day at Edwardstown, I have never coughed so much.
I know I wasn't the only one as it was like a chorus of coughers all sounding like lungs were about to be barfed up.
Staying well hydrated was always necessary more than ever given the temperature, but I have also experienced this at the SuperDrome no matter what the temperature was, whether it be summer or in the middle of winter.
I've had a brief search on the web & most discussion centres around "exercise induced asthma" & throat irritation from sucking in lots of air very fast whilst racing or similar. I'm not an asthma sufferer (at least I don't think so).
Anyone got any ideas?
Brett have you ever experienced this over your career, especially on track ?
Cheers,
Bryan
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28/01/2009 11:09:45 AM
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Aimee A
Posts 6
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Hey Bryan,
Racing on monday was incredibly tough in the heat - I felt really gross after each race too. The problem with the Adelaide heat is that it is very dry, so that may be why you are coughing a fair bit. Having said that - the fact that you do it at the superdrome in summer and winter may indicate that you have a slight case of exercise induced asthma.
Personally, I am an asthmatic - and winter track is the worst thing for it, even if I take a preventer. Higher level of effort on track usually, so that may be a contributing factor to the coughing factor too? I'd say it would be worth getting EIA checked out at the doctors - very simple to test for, and very simple solution too 
As for the heat - nationals next week in the blistering heat is not going to be much fun 
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28/01/2009 11:44:10 AM
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Bryan McIntyre
Posts 5
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Good luck at nationals Aimee, I'm sure you'll go well.
Actually to help keep cool I thought the kiddies at the track had a great idea using spray bottles full of cold water.
Maybe a water fight in the SuperDrome is in order.
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28/01/2009 2:05:16 PM
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Graham McArthur
Posts 15
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This is very common and is often referred to as "pursuiter's cough".
Pursuit riders can have this coughing last for hours and I have known some to still have a cough a day or two after.
Its caused by a combination of factors and can/will happen at any air temperature provided you put in the effort.
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28/01/2009 2:40:57 PM
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Michael Warner
Posts 122
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I don't think it's specific to the track - I've noticed that very hard efforts on the road (usually chasing someone up a hill) in winter can leave me with a cough for a couple of days. I don't suffer from asthma of any kind, but I suspect that sucking down a lot of very dry air irritates the linings of the throat and lungs, and in the cold I don't notice my mouth drying out, which reminds me to shut my mouth in summer.
As for the dryness of our heat, IMHO it's its saving grace, not its problem. I find a sticky 30C day much harder to bear than a dry 40C+.
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28/01/2009 11:08:29 PM
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Brett Aitken
Posts 31
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Hi Bryan
Yeah, I think anyone who has done a team or individual pursuit has experienced this, hence the term as Graham mentioned "pursuiters cough". As for the scientific reason behind it I'm not 100% sure but weather is not the primary issue. It's more the intensity of effort and the need to suck in as much oxygen as possible that reacts in some form of inflammation on the lungs and coughing as a result.
No amount of training seems to have any influence or relief either but other than the irritation it doesn't seem to affect performance.
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29/01/2009 1:53:31 PM
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Jason Daniels
Posts 73
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Michael Warner wrote:
As for the dryness of our heat, IMHO it's its saving grace, not its problem. I find a sticky 30C day much harder to bear than a dry 40C+.
I find a lot of people say the same thing Michael, however I disagree. I'm an Asthmatic and I suffered a great deal as a kid. during some of the more serious attacks, I would be placed in a tent in the hospital where the cool oxygen enriched air would help my lungs. To assist, they would also crack up the humidity. The air inside your lungs is pretty saturated with moisture and is pretty close to body temperature, part of the reason why we produce saliva and mucous is to help warm and humidify the air we breathe so that our lungs don't freak out by having to deal with cold dry air.
I then spent my teenage years in rehab to develop my damaged lungs so that I could effectively breathe correctly, and I can recall only ever having two bad asthma attacks in the years of cycling in Adelaide, and I used to love riding in all weather conditions. Some of my best times up Norton and Montacute where done on 40C+ days.
I now live just below the equator in PNG and the air here never gets below 50% humidity. If it drops below that, its a dry day. Currently it is 63% and at midday, this is the driest time. By nightfall it will be around 95% again. And I have not had any breathing problems here, but I sure do notice the dry air when I go back down south to Adelaide. Horrible stuff, youse Mexicans can keep it.
cheers,
jd
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29/01/2009 2:51:45 PM
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Michael Warner
Posts 122
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I do appreciate that many people with respiratory or skin problems prefer wet to dry heat - I'm fortunate to have neither - but that's a medical issue, not a question of the basic stress caused by riding in various climates.
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