If your children love to be active, it can be so fun to watch them play the sports they love! But what if your child has asthma and is always nervous to participate because of the risk of an asthma attack? Encouraging exercise while understanding your child’s hesitations can be a difficult thing to do.

We know all about asthma and can offer some tips to help you understand how to better support your child. Our team at AFC Urgent Care Hixson can help encourage you and your child with these tips below!

How Can I Encourage Participation in Sports?

Meet your children where they are. If they are nervous about participation, slowly start to introduce activities and encourage them to keep an exercise journal.

Writing down activities and explaining how each one made them feel can help them find their limits. You should also make sure that your children always have an inhaler with them, even if it has been a while since their last attack. Below are some great activities to start with.

Asthma-Friendly Sports

• Golf
• Baseball/softball
• Biking
• Short-distance track and field events

What Sports Should You Not Allow for a Child With Asthma?

There are no sports that should be completely avoided if your child’s asthma is well-managed. However, endurance sports or any activities that don’t allow for adequate rest time can prove to be more difficult. Sports like soccer or cross country don’t have set resting times so it can be harder for your child to catch his or her breath. When it gets colder, endurance sports can even be more tricky because of the thinning air.

That being said, don’t let this deter you from encouraging these types of activities for your children. Just be flexible and allow them proper “timeouts” whenever they need them and adapt as needed.

Tips to Combat Asthma Symptoms

• Scarves and ski masks can be used to breathe through when it is cold outside.
• Carry a current inhaler prescription.
• Respect allergy season and avoid exertion during high pollen days.
• Never skip a warmup or cool-down.

If you think your child’s asthma is getting worse, come see us at AFC Urgent Care Hixson!