Try Out Running if You Have Asthma

     Having Asthma as a runner adds difficulty to running, especially when all you're trying to do is get some air in! I've had asthma all of my life, not just sports induced, which is not the same as regular asthma. I find my asthma worsens during the seasons of fall and spring, and it becomes deadly when I have a cold!
     Seeing as it is the fall time, all you other runners living with Asthma may have noticed this cool weather (depending on where you live) has sparked some of that difficulty breathing. It's frustrating, stressful, and terrifying. And if you have any luck like my own, often a simple puff of the inhaler doesn't always do the trick.
     When I was little, I was told that running was not something that should cross my mind. Asthma was like a cage for me. I listened to the doctors, assuming they were right, like a doctor should be. However, with increased activity, requiring my lungs to work harder, I have noticed my Asthma (believe it or not) has gotten better thanks to running.
     Before running, I had absolutely awful Asthma year round. I would sit on my bed hooked up to a a machine that exhausted medicine in the form of gas into my body, just to keep my body from killing its own self.
    After I began running, my Asthma changed to more year round diseases but with seasonal high peaks. I believe running, despite most medical advice that I have been told, has improved my Asthma, and I encourage those who are struggling with the same disease I am to give it a try. However, you know your body better than any doctor or medical expert, so when you can tell your Asthma is getting worse during a run, slow down, or stop completely. Trust me, it's not worth it!
     After trying to run with an Asthma attack that would not go away with just the simple use of my  inhaler, I managed to pull a few muscles in my chest, and even though I am completely relaxed and resting at this very moment, it is painful to breathe! If your body is telling you to stop, stop! But if your body is telling you to go, then by all means- go!
    When it comes down to it, what you do is completely up to you. But if you suffer from Asthma, give running a try. I'm really glad that I did.