Do you regularly cough and feel short of breath about five to 10 minutes into a good, heart-pumping workout? If so, you may have asthma. Your breathing problems during exercise are part of the underlying condition.

People with mild exercise-induced asthma may not realize that their symptoms go beyond the body's normal response to exertion. They blame their difficulty on being out of shape or short on endurance. The good news is that when your asthma is properly recognized and treated, you'll probably be able to exercise as much as you want.

Many people with asthma have bouts of wheezing and breathlessness when they exercise strenuously. This reaction is known as exercise-induced asthma or exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Exercise-induced asthma is not a distinct type of asthma. Instead, it is likely to occur in anyone who has the airway reactivity that underlies asthma. Your airways — the passages branching off your windpipe to carry air to and from your lungs — are reactive if they tend to narrow under certain circumstances, such as after exposure to an allergen or while you are suffering from a cold. The linings of reactive airways are prone to inflammation and excess mucus secretion as well.

Because they're more active than adults, children are more likely to wind up at the doctor's to find out why they have trouble catching their breath when they play hard. Exercise-induced symptoms are often the tip-off that a child has asthma. Other triggers may become apparent over time.

At all ages, though, physical activity is a common cause of acute airway constriction — in other words, of asthma attacks. Only colds are more likely to cause asthma symptoms. Aerobic exercise, such as running or playing basketball, hockey or soccer, is more likely to trigger asthma symptoms than is weightlifting, golfing or moderate-paced walking. Swimming is aerobic, but because humidity is higher near water, your airways are more likely to stay open.

On a practical level, they're the same. About 90 percent of people with chronic asthma have exercise-induced asthma. And a subgroup of people with exercise-induced asthma — by some estimates, between 5 percent and 10 percent — have symptoms only when they exercise. Allergies, pet hair, respiratory infections — none of these common triggers causes asthma symptoms in this group.

Even so, exercise-induced symptoms are usually no different from those of asthma induced by other triggers. Typically, the symptoms appear during exercise, but they may not start until after. And asthma episodes related to exercise tend not to last as long as other asthma attacks.

Because exercise-induced asthma has the same symptoms and results from the same airway reaction involved in regular asthma, standard asthma medications can control it. Depending on the severity and frequency of your symptoms, your doctor may prescribe:

• A short-acting inhaled bronchodilator, such as albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin) or pirbuterol (Maxair), used 15 minutes before exercise to prevent symptoms for about four hours.
• A mast cell stabilizer, such as cromolyn sodium (Intal) or nedocromil sodium (Tilade), used 15 to 60 minutes before exercise to prevent symptoms for about four hours.
• A longer acting bronchodilator, such as salmeterol (Serevent Diskus) and formoterol (Foradil), taken 30 minutes before exercise to relieve symptoms for up to 12 hours.
• A leukotriene modifier, such as montelukast sodium (Singulair) or zafirlukast (Accolate), for effects lasting up to 24 hours. These drugs are helpful in reducing airway inflammation when exercise-induced symptoms are a feature of chronic asthma.

If you wheeze whenever you exert yourself or if allergies and irritants also trigger your symptoms, your doctor may recommend that you use a corticosteroid inhaler such as triamcinolone (Azmacort) or fluticasone (Flovent) every day. These drugs reduce inflammation. In addition, you may need daily doses of a longer acting bronchodilator.

Make a habit of warming up and cooling down for at least 15 minutes before and after exercise. Avoid exercising outdoors in extremely cold temperatures or when pollen levels are high.

If you feel mild asthma symptoms coming on during a workout, try continuing your activity. Your symptoms may remain mild. Otherwise, if your doctor has prescribed an inhaler with a short-acting bronchodilator, pause and inhale two puffs, even if you have pretreated. You should breathe more easily within a few minutes. If you don't, stop exercising. Recurrent exercise-induced symptoms not relieved by a short-acting bronchodilator may mean you need to change your medication.

Other tips that may help reduce symptoms:

• Do your best to stay free of colds and other respiratory infections. Refrain from strenuous exercise when you have a cold.
• Choose a humid exercise environment such as a trail alongside a lake or stream or a gym with an indoor pool.
• If allergies contribute to your asthma, use allergy medication as directed by your doctor, and avoid exercising anywhere you might be exposed to allergens.
• Learn to breathe through your nose or through pursed lips as much as possible while exercising.
• Wear a face mask during exercise.

With your doctor's help, you can control exercise-induced asthma. The benefits of regular exercise are too great to let asthma symptoms keep you from activities you enjoy.