If having sex is leaving you breathless, it may be asthma

A STEAMY encounter between the sheets that takes your breath away could be a reason to tell your doctor as sex can trigger asthma attacks, health experts have warned.

Sex-induced asthma may be common but people are too embarrassed to talk about it, a study presented at this year’s American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) conference has shown.

Dr Ariel Leung, of Saint Agnes Medical Centre in Fresno, California, said: “We wanted to investigate whether case studies on asthma exacerbations mentioned sexual activity as a possible cause. Many people don’t realise that the energy expenditure of sexual activity is about equivalent to walking up two flights of stairs.

“Reported cases are infrequent, possibly because those suffering an asthma flare may not realise the trigger.”

Experts trawled medical databases looking for case studies of people who had suffered from sex-induced asthma, which they believe is similar to exercise-induced asthma which affects about 5 to 20 per cent of the population.

Although they found only a handful of cases, they believe the problem is likely to be more widespread, but people are reluctant to talk about the problem with their doctor.

Asthma UK advises that if sex is causing asthma it is a sign that the condition is not being properly controlled. The charity warned that intercourse should be treated like exercise because it raises the heart rate and can cause rapid breathing.

Dr AM Aminian, an ACAAI member and co-author of the study, said: “Another possible cause of underreporting of this condition is the intimate nature of the subject. People may not be comfortable discussing with their allergist an asthma flare that was caused by sex.”

Experts recommend that patients take their inhaler 30 minutes prior to sex to prevent a potential attack.