It’s been a while since I’ve did some running. It’s about 20F degrees here, and I did about 10 minutes of jogging. A Google search of this symptom, after running, says that it may be Asthma. I doubt it’s Asthma because I wasn’t breathing heavy after wards, just a slight irritating cough. And I’m healthy otherwise. I’ve noted the same thing in the past when I have run, and I started coughing afterwards, but it went away after I got used running more. So is this just some irritation of the lungs, and what causes it?
I not really looking for medical advice really, just wondering what causes this coughing.
Might it be just what I term “the hacks” - you know, the series of small coughs you get after drinking something cold (like a malt) too quickly? I’m thinking the cold air you inhaled might have a similar effect.
This happens to me as well (I’d probably say I’m in fair shape, I play some intramural sports and whatnot), only in cold weather. I get an annoying cough that lasts maybe an hour or so after doing anything more than a short run.
I never really thought anything of it or worried about it, other than it was the cold weather causing it. Sorry I can’t help with a cause.
Most folks think of wheezing when they think of asthma, but coughing is the most frequent symptom. Exercise is an asthma trigger for many asthmatics. I wouldn’t be so quick to cross off asthma as the cause of your coughing. Your doctor can test your breathing capacity before and after exercise to find out.
I have never had any trouble with asthma, but I cough after I run in very cold weather. Especially when I’ve let my conditioning slip (like, I haven’t run in a week) I cough quite a lot and it persists for maybe a half hour after the run.
What seems to help me a lot is making sure my trunk stays warm. In addition to a long-sleeved wicking layer, I wear a windbreaker and fleece vest when it’s cold (30’s & 20’s), and add a fleece jacket when it’s really cold (less than 20).
The steam from a warm shower also might help the cough go away, but it also might be that the cough just goes away on its own, and I always take a warm shower after running.
But I think some coughing after a run is just part of winter running.
