Sucking cold wind burns my lungs it does

March 28, 2006 8:12 PM

When I jog or something in the cold my lungs burn. Is this normal? If I jog in the cold repeatedly will this go away or get worse?
posted by baking soda to health & fitness (16 comments total)

Were you or are you a smoker?

If you have smoked in the last 5 years or so, I've heard that the pain doesn't really go away.
posted by Destroid at 8:20 PM on March 28, 2006

It's normal. If you're in bitter cold, it just hurts sometimes. I am a very healthy male and both when I used to jog and now when I bike in cold, dry air -- it hurts!

Never smoked in my life.
posted by symphonik at 8:22 PM on March 28, 2006

Nope not a smoker. Its turning to spring here and the air was -slightly- cold and my lungs burned. Maybe im sensitive, I dunno. But dang, its something I wouldnt push unless I knew I would build up resistance to the cold air... The longer I go the more I feel like Im going to hack up a bronchiole.
posted by baking soda at 8:24 PM on March 28, 2006

Well, the fact is I cant remember the last time I pushed it out in the cold. I dont like exercising outside in the cold for this reason. I dont know if the pain would turn into wheezing or not... But if I did start wheezing, I couldnt imagine that being a good thing...
posted by baking soda at 8:26 PM on March 28, 2006

Then I think you'll get used to it, but it won't ever be pleasant.
posted by Destroid at 8:28 PM on March 28, 2006

As a cross country runner at a school which competes at a high level and is located in one of the more unforgiving climates in the country, my opinion is that you'll get used to it.

Anymore, cold air does not bother my lungs much at all, but it took acclimation time. The more you do it, the less it's going to hurt, in my opinion.

And don't worry about damaging yourself, just stay hydrated and dress properly, you won't hurt yourself on the cold air. By stay hydrated I mean to drink beforehand, you don't have to carry water with you. I've run 24 miles without a water break. Small tidbit: you lose a large amount of H20 through your lungs when running (dry air in, moist air out).
posted by zhivota at 8:41 PM on March 28, 2006

I asked a smiliar question a while back (granted, I'm a southerner wuss). Some of what I found in there may help.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:11 PM on March 28, 2006

Runners World article

The human body is adapted, after surviving five major ice ages, to heat air quickly as it passes through the nose and mouth. In fact, the one legitimate lung condition that troubles runners in cold air doesn't come from the cold. In his 10 years of working with Nordic skiers at the U.S. Olympic Committee training facility in Lake Placid, New York, exercise physiologist Ken Rundell, Ph.D., found that as many as 50 percent would develop "skier's hack"--a transient cough--during or after training.

In subsequent research at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Rundell proved that the dryness of cold air causes the "airway narrowing," a term he prefers to the more common "exercise-induced asthma." To diminish this problem, Rundell suggests using a scarf that will trap your natural water vapor when you exhale, and then allow you to "recycle" it when you inhale.

I have just about given up on my quest when I receive an e-mail from one of Steve Bainbridge's running partners in Fairbanks. Owen Hanley, M.D., is a pulmonary specialist, so he knows lungs, and he has seen the frozen variety. "It's easy to develop frozen lungs," Hanley says. "You simply have to die in the icy outdoors, and then your lungs will freeze along with the rest of you."

So, it is possible for your lungs to freeze. Only not while you're alive and running.
posted by frogan at 10:38 PM on March 28, 2006

I second the scarf idea, it works for me. But when that is not available, I breathe in through my nose. I don't know if this is psychological or physiological, but it makes the air feel warmer.
posted by iurodivii at 10:43 PM on March 28, 2006

I'm also a fan of using some sort of intermediate layer in extreme cold. I am usually fine without any help down to about +5 degrees F. Colder than that and I find myself either using a headband over my mouth, or frequently running with one gloved hand over my mouth and nose to try to warm the air quicker.

However, all that is moot after a few miles, when my body gets sufficiently warm that I can breath the air normally.

Also, breathing through the nose is better if you can do it at the pace you're going. Sometimes it's impossible to get enough air that way though.

Also, in my opinion, many people who suffer from "exercise induced asthma," really only suffer from "couch-potato lungs" syndrome in reality. I have no doubt there are legitimate sufferers of this ailment, but people come on, if you don't do aerobic activity and then you do, you're going to be short of breath. Build up your fitness slowly and one day you'll magically not have to worry about it anymore.
posted by zhivota at 11:07 PM on March 28, 2006

I haven't exercised outside this winter but earlier I used to commute by bike. When it got down to around -20 – -30°C I would get problems breathing during the heaviest part of the ride. Next year I'll be training fairly heavily outside during the winter and consider getting a face mask, something like the stuff from Respro. There are other companies that make masks for this purpose so look around. If you go down that route, make sure it's a mask designed for heavy breathing though.
posted by rycee at 11:32 PM on March 28, 2006

As a kid in Michigan, it was just too cold in winter and always hurt. But in North Carolina, it's been mild enough that it only hurts if I take a long break and then start up again during winter, though then it hurts even if it's just barely cold out, like 58 degrees.
posted by ruff at 12:09 AM on March 29, 2006

iurodivii: I breathe in through my nose. I don't know if this is psychological or physiological, but it makes the air feel warmer.

It's physiological. Don't be a mouth breather.
posted by syzygy at 3:32 AM on March 29, 2006

Last summer I lost a ton of weight and built up a lot of endurance on the elliptical, during the winter I tried running once because it was freezing out, thinking "hey, I'll use this endurance I built up to get out of the cold quicker"

Anyway, my lungs ended up hurting like a motherfucker. Not fun at all.
posted by delmoi at 7:28 AM on March 29, 2006

I've x-country skied for years. You do get used to it. It does get to be more of a problem as it gets colder. Below -15 C the best advice is to wear a muffler. Cover you mouth and nose with a scarf. Below -35 C it gets difficult to do high-intensity exercise outside.
posted by bonehead at 8:23 AM on March 29, 2006

You could have a mild form of asthma. Exercise and cold are common things that aggrevate this.

A few articles in order that I recommend them.

Merck Manual Asthma article


Exercise-induced asthma article from WebMD

Exercise-induced asthma: Avoid it with preventive medication
posted by fief at 8:35 AM on March 29, 2006