Bronchitis after cycling on dry dusty days.

[Globalti]

I've recently done two rides on very still, bright but hazy sunny days when there hadn't been any rain recently so there's lots of pollution and dust. On both rides I was in traffic some of the time inhaling exhaust fumes. After the first I woke up the next morning with a chest infection and fever, which a course of Amoxy cleared up. On a more recent ride I developed bronchitis with a lot of mucus in the chest, slight sore throat and general feeling of malaise.

Anybody else get this? Any suggestions apart from avoiding the weather conditions and the places that cause it? Most of my riding is in hilly open country areas with virtually no traffic so I seldom get this kind of problem.

 

[Norm]

Is it actually bronchitis?

I've had about 6 mild bouts over the past decade, so I know a little about it, and I thought it came about (this is acute rather than chronic) after a chest infection so it would take a week, at least a few days, to develop into bronchitis.

Could it be a reaction to the pollution? I'd guess either the dust or particulates are allergens for you, as an allergic reaction can show similar symptoms to bronchitis.

 

[davehann]

yes i get this too
i think it is worse this year because of all the salt left on the roads

 

[Moodyman]

I've had it every day since the weather improved and the balaclava came off for the daily commute.

It's not as severe as bronchitis, but the chest is constantly groggy.

Interestingly, was fine throughout the winter - even at -10c

 

[Globalti]

Went out Saturday for a couple of hours in nice clear fresh air but this morning the chest is worse than ever. Drat and double drat!

 

[Mad at urage]

When cycling in heavy traffic for long, I recommend using a cyclist's anti-pollution mask. Personally I favour Respro Sport (cooler on the face) or Respro Bandit (can be used to wipe away the sweat). Note the report here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/109656.stm that many don't actually filter out all pollution (that'll mostly be down to fit - how you use it - and the fact that nothing is perfect) but at least they keep the air you are breathing relatively moist, which will help (IME).

 

[Fiona N]

It's not just dust that brings on my chesty cough - yesterday was moist but windy and I reckon there was a lot of tree pollen as my eyes and sinuses were quite bad despite the hayfever tablets.

But it's the hacking, chesty cough that makes me sounds like a 40-a-day smoker that used to make me wonder about the healthiness of all this cycling. Then my Swiss GP pointed out the more effective your lungs are at ridding themselves of pollutants, the less likely it is to cause problems. So the few hours of coughing up grot at the price I pay for healthy lungs.

 

[frank9755]

But it's the hacking, chesty cough that makes me sounds like a 40-a-day smoker that used to make me wonder about the healthiness of all this cycling. Then my Swiss GP pointed out the more effective your lungs are at ridding themselves of pollutants, the less likely it is to cause problems. So the few hours of coughing up grot at the price I pay for healthy lungs.

Having been coughing for the last month, that has reassured me immensely!

 

[Mad at urage]

Tree-pollen in eyes - wear some eye protection which also keeps out small insects and grit - I had a piece of grit stuck in the cornea once, hospital said I was close to losing the eye through infection: I've made a habit of always wearing eye protection since (eyes are softer than skulls ).

 

[Globalti]

But surely there's a difference between coughing a few times and having a sore throat and feeling chesty and ropey for a week or two after the ride? I'm off to get some Amoxycillin from a pal who is a vet this afternoon, I've had enough of feeling unwell.

 

[Mad at urage]

Yeah, I was reading your OP as getting a sore chest (and from later post, sore eyes - these do tend to go together IME) after rides. If you are still feeling unwell two weeks later, go to your doctor and find out why (my advice is not to use your vet mate's drugs, the likelihood is that the ingredients are compounded to different strngths and possibly other ingredients from human versions of the 'same' medicine).

 

[Globalti]

I've taken them before thanks and it hasn't done me any harm. Mooo. Meaaaah.

 

[dan_bo]

Get some Ketamine while you're there. You'll soon forget your bad chest.

 

[Fiona N]

... feeling chesty and ropey for a week or two after the ride?

But that doesn't sound like bronchitis - I used to get it once a year usually after a bad cold ('went down onto my chest' in the old jargon) and it was a month of absolutely debilitating coughing to the extent where I couldn't eat much as I'd cough until I retched - and throwing up while coughing is really not to be recommended. The few hours of coughing nowadays is of a different magnitude altogether.

Actually what you're describing is more like the chronic lung inflammation I had in Italy - not an infection but an inflammatory response to diesel particulates according to the doctor - and treated with steroids not antibiotics.

 

[Norm]

But that doesn't sound like bronchitis - I used to get it once a year usually after a bad cold ('went down onto my chest' in the old jargon) and it was a month of absolutely debilitating coughing to the extent where I couldn't eat much as I'd cough until I retched - and throwing up while coughing is really not to be recommended. The few hours of coughing nowadays is of a different magnitude altogether.

Actually what you're describing is more like the chronic lung inflammation I had in Italy - not an infection but an inflammatory response to diesel particulates according to the doctor - and treated with steroids not antibiotics.

I would write that I agree with all of that, but I had already written it myself further up.