Breathing lessons

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001 | 10:50 a.m.

Most symptoms of exercise-induced asthma can be alleviated by taking medication through the mouth via an inhaler prescribed by a physician. Here are the most common symptoms of exercise-induced asthma:

Chris Rosen was just being a typical kid, running through his neighborhood with friends, when he received the scare of his life two years ago.

"I was running one day and I got short of breath and almost blacked out," said Rosen, now a Durango High freshman. "It felt like someone was holding down my throat. I went to the doctor and he said I had asthma."

Though it may sound frightening, Rosen's experience is hardly uncommon for kids his age. Most studies estimate that 10-15 percent of all teenagers suffer from the same malady as Rosen: exercise-induced asthma (EIA), a respiratory condition in which the tubes running from the nose and mouth to the lungs constrict during exercise, making it difficult to breathe.

Last week, the death of Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler, reportedly from complications from a bronchial asthma attack, served as a warning to athletes everywhere who have the condition.

Already concerned with the deadly effects of the summer's sweltering heat after the recent death of NFL lineman Korey Stringer due to heatstroke, parents, coaches and athletes now have something else to worry about as high school practice officially begins Thursday in Southern Nevada.

"We have more problems with asthma here than we do with heat illness,"said Jim Porter, regional outreach director for Health South Hospital, which provides trainers for 10 high schools on the west side of town.

"They say that about 15 percent of the teenage population has EIA and of that, about 65 percent don't realize they have it until they start competition."

Despite his condition, Rosen decided to try out for the Durango football team this fall, after discussing the situation with his father. He took part in conditioning sessions last week, and was one of six players clutching asthma inhalers as they worked out.

"I'd say let them try it, as long as the trainer is aware of it and watching the kid," Porter said.

"If my trainers tell a coach they need to pull a kid out of practice for a bit, they have no problem with that. Our first priority is the health of the kids. Winning and losing are secondary."

"We're totally aware of it," Palo Verde football coach Darwin Rost said. "We have quite a few kids with inhalers, and it's never been a problem. If a kid ever needs their inhaler, we'd make sure to run it right out to them."

To compete in high school activities, all students in Clark County must submit physical forms signed by a doctor.

"It's up to the physician who did the physical (to determine if the athlete should participate)," county athletic director Larry McKay said. "It could be asthma, a heart condition, whatever. It has to go through a health-care professional. You depend on the doctor to sign off on the kid. That's why we have physicals.

"But it's not an exact science. You would think Northwestern has a more comprehensive physical than we have in Clark County, so obviously it's not completely preventable. But you take all the steps you can to prevent it."

Last week, a coroner ruled that the 22-year-old Wheeler's death resulted from an asthma attack which occurred during a Northwestern conditioning drill on Aug. 3.

Wheeler suffered from "bronchial" or "chronic" asthma, a form of the condition which can be triggered even without exercise. Pollen and dust, among other things, can be enough to induce an incident.

Palo Verde junior Jordan Wilmore, a member of the school's football and basketball teams, said he originally took up athletics as a way to combat his bronchial asthma.

"Most doctors want you to exercise and play sports when you have asthma," Wilmore said. "They say it helps build up your lungs. Sometimes, you can have an attack just sitting around, so you're better off doing some exercise."

Among the more well-known athletes who competed with asthma during their careers are Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Tom Dolan and Amy Van Dyken and NFL star Jerome Bettis.

Porter encourages parents who are concerned their children may have EIA to bring them in for tests, such as the ones Health South will make available throughout the 2001-2002 school year to help target kids with the condition.

"We can stress them in a controlled setting to see if they have asthma instead of on the football field," said Porter, who wrestled and played football in high school and college despite suffering from chronic asthma and EIA.

Porter said symptoms of EIA include fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, wheezing and tightness in the throat and chest.

Pat Wood, mother of Palo Verde junior Eric Wood, a member of the Panthers' basketball team who has EIA, said she feels comfortable with her son playing sports because he understands his limitations and takes them seriously.

"He's pretty in tune with it. He kind of knows when it's bad, and he'll take himself out (of a game)," Wood said. "He keeps the inhaler with him at all times, and he's always aware of how much is in there.

"I've never been afraid for his health. If I thought it would harm him, I wouldn't let him play."