RiceFuelsUs wrote:
Sucks to his ass-mar!
Ha! Haven't heard that one in a while.
Before the lynch mob gets too fired up, it's worth noting a couple of things.
First, there is plenty of evidence that elite athletes in certain sports acquire asthma (or more specifically, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction) as a consequence of repeated airway irritation during training. Winter athletes who train in indoor arenas (e.g. speedskaters) have some of the highest prevalence, presumably due to the terrible air quality (zamboni fumes). Cross-country skiers also have very high prevalence (higher than runners), because they do a lot of heavy breathing of cold, dry air. Runners also have elevated prevalence, and it would likely be worse for those who train in cold, dry areas -- like Utah, and particularly with very high mileage.
E.g. here's some background:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25880506"... Repetitive hyperpnea of dry air during training is associated with airway inflammatory changes and remodeling..."
Second, the evidence that inhalers help athletic performance in those without asthma is very mixed at best. It definitely improves lung function, but lung function is very rarely a limiting factor for well-trained endurance athletes, except in certain specific conditions like running at altitude. Most studies end up with results like this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25156879"The inhalation of salbutamol induced a significant increase in lung function in female athletes, but this increased lung function did not translate to improved exercise performance."
Is there abuse of TUEs to get asthma meds? Undoubtedly. But it's also possible to REALLY have adult-onset EIB, and if you don't have it the meds are unlikely to have any benefits.