Can I swim if I have an allergic cough?

Generally, the causes of allergic coughs are mostly due to climate reasons or excessive exercise, so you must take protective measures when the seasons change, try not to eat foods that are prone to allergies, keep your environment clean, and you can exercise moderately in normal times, but not strenuous exercise, so swimming is not allowed.

1. Social and psychological factors

The relationship between social and psychological factors and allergic cough also has important clinical significance. Most allergic cough management guidelines or allergic cough management manuals have paid great attention to social and psychological factors. Studies have shown that low education level, poor compliance, and inadequate medical care are associated with the mortality and morbidity of allergic cough. Currently, most authors believe that social and psychological factors are closely related to the onset of allergic cough. Lehrer et al. proposed that mental factors, psychological factors, emotional factors and personality factors should be taken into consideration in the study of allergic cough.

Some studies have confirmed that in most patients with allergic cough, wheezing attacks may be induced by certain mental and psychological stresses and changes in emotional factors. This is more obvious in adult patients. Anxiety, anger, mental tension, panic, depression, anger and worry can all be one of the triggers of allergic cough attacks. In addition, the patient's poor socioeconomic conditions (such as being unable to afford the costs of drugs such as inhaled corticosteroids) and inadequate social and medical care conditions (such as lack of appropriate anti-inflammatory drugs or nebulizer devices, inability to master certain allergic cough self-management techniques, lack of guidance from allergic cough or allergy specialists) can seriously affect the stability of allergic cough.

Among them, social and family factors such as excessive work stress, career setbacks, financial constraints, poor social medical care conditions and mental stress caused by other diseases, and the worries and frustration caused by family breakdown, failed marriages or broken hearts can all be one of the triggering factors of allergic cough.

2. Climate Factors

Cold air, changes in air humidity, and changes in air pressure can all trigger an allergic cough. The incidence of allergic cough increases significantly in areas with large temperature differences, high humidity or low air pressure. When patients with allergic cough in these areas go to areas with dry climate and higher air pressure, their allergic cough can often be relieved. The mechanism by which cold air induces allergic cough is that cold air can cause heat loss in the airways, causing mast cells to release mediators, directly or indirectly inducing airway inflammation and causing allergic cough attacks. Temperatures that are too high or too low are both adverse factors for allergic cough.

Based on the fact that patients with allergic cough often feel that their symptoms worsen during thunderstorms, Robert et al. conducted a six-year investigation into the occurrence of thunderstorms and the emergency hospitalization of children due to allergic cough. The results confirmed that "thunderstorm allergic cough" does exist. found that children were 15% more likely to be hospitalized for allergic cough during thunderstorms. Some studies have suggested that the increase in pollen concentration in the air is the cause of "thunderstorm allergic cough", but Robert's research has confirmed that the occurrence of "thunderstorm allergic cough" is related to the increase in fungal spore concentration in the air during thunderstorms, and has nothing to do with changes in pollen concentration in the air. During thunderstorms, the concentration of fungal spores in the air nearly doubles.

3. Excessive exercise and hyperventilation

Examples of exercise-induced allergic cough are very common in clinical practice. For most patients with allergic cough, exercise is only a triggering factor, while for patients with exercise-induced allergic cough, exercise may be the causative factor. In fact, all patients with allergic cough and some patients with allergic rhinitis may experience wheezing symptoms after a certain amount of exercise. Its mechanism is related to hyperventilation caused by excessive exercise, which leads to excessive airway heat loss and cooling of the airway environment, thereby inducing mast cells to release inflammatory mediators and causing airway inflammation. Hyperventilation caused by laughing, crying and making a fuss in children with allergic cough often induces wheezing symptoms.