Remedies for dry / sore throat during cardio?

JasonAxelrod

I've been working on the elliptical for a while now, keeping my cardio in-doors. Flat-ground running has been a concern of mine because of my back and my joints having a bit too much stress on them at 290 pounds, with my loose fat constantly trudging up and then back down again with every stride. On top of that, however, I seem to get a very, very dry and sore throat so quickly when I'm doing cardio outdoors, and even though I keep water on me, it barely keeps the dryness at bay and there is always an inevitable soreness or burning sensation.

I imagine that this must simply be because I am breathing so hard during jogging, but I can't be the only person to deal with this kind of thing, and I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience with this and how they manage it, if at all possible? I'd really love to get back outdoors at SOME point, but the discomfort here is pretty bad and has always been enough to stop me mid-stride, even in my youth.

Cyclingbonnie

Try to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

bcattoes

I haven't experienced that myself, but could you chew gum while exercising without choking on it? That should keep your saliva production up and your mouth/throat moist.

krouse83

When I run or go on really long walks I tend to get dry mouth/ throat as well. Water helps, as well as breathing in your nose and out you mouth. I also always do cardio with gum. I'm not sure if its advised or not, but it helps me alot.

JasonAxelrod

Try to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Hm. I've always gotten very winded during cardio to the point where trying to do that in the past was a little too difficult given the rate at which I needed to breathe to feel comfortable with my oxygen intake. I guess I'd always assumed this was the case for everyone when doing prolonged cardio because I never knew any different. I appreciate the response. Hopefully as more weight sheds I'll find myself less short of breath and be able to see if this will help.

I haven't experienced that myself, but could you chew gum while exercising without choking on it? That should keep your saliva production up and your mouth/throat moist.

I haven't experienced that myself, but could you chew gum while exercising without choking on it? That should keep your saliva production up and your mouth/throat moist.

When I run or go on really long walks I tend to get dry mouth/ throat as well. Water helps, as well as breathing in your nose and out you mouth. I also always do cardio with gum. I'm not sure if its advised or not, but it helps me alot.

I think I should be alright on that front. I'll have to give this a try. I breathe pretty quickly when I'm in the height of my workout, so I'm not sure how much chewing I'd be doing, but it definitely sounds like a good idea. I'll give this a shot for sure, thank you.

sharonfoustmills

is it possible you have reflux problems? reflux problems can cause a shortness of breath and it is irritated by exercise

if it is only happening outdoors, allergies maybe? an antihistamine might help?

or it could just be the summer heat combined with being overweight, that's tough- I live on the gulf coast and exercising outside in summer is just really not an option here for an overweight person

JasonAxelrod

is it possible you have reflux problems? reflux problems can cause a shortness of breath and it is irritated by exercise

While it has happened to me once or twice in the past, that's generally not an issue for me in or outside of exercise and usually only happens if I'm already feeling a little sick.

It's not strictly outdoors, either, it just seems to be worse outdoors. It might be allergies, I just found it suspect that it has happened every single time I've ever done any kind of cardio. Then again, cardio has always been overly strenuous for me as I've never really been in shape.

And yeah, we've got nasty dry summers here in Phoenix, so that definitely doesn't help.

In either case, I'll keep the antihistamine in mind. Thanks a lot.

wwhite72082

I alternate between running outdoors and using an elliptical indoors. When I run into problems with a dry throat, it happens far more often indoors. I don't know if the warm gym with dry air makes the problem noticeable or if it is just a coincidence.

What seems to help me is to take a short break (slow down - don't stop) and sip on water for ~30 seconds. If I just grab the water bottle and start gulping, the relief if short lived. The slow intake of water combined with me breathing slower helps a lot.

MelStren

You may be pushing yourself too hard if you can't breathe in your nose and out your mouth.


If you have a lot of excess fat that is bouncing up and down when you jog, try wearing compression clothing. It's supposed to hold that skin in one place and prevent damage to the elasticity of the skin so it doesn't keep "hanging" around after you've lost weight.

jbonow1231

Reading this description, have you talked to your doctor about how this may be exercise-induced asthma?

As that sounds pretty spot on to the symptoms I used to get. After my weight loss, and being more mindful of my water intake, I don't seem to have this anymore, but yes, it will still crop up if I have cold symptoms, because of the extra pressure on breathing.

You may want to just ask if you man need an inhaler to take a puff or two during serious workouts, it seriously helps a lot with the pain.

ElliottTN

Chewing gum will keep the dry mouth at bay during cardio. But. If you haven't yet, make an appointment with your doctors for a physical and ask about excercise when you are there. You may need to drop some weight via just plain diet before you start anything other than walking.

BMorford31

I LOVE the elliptical! I have the same problem. I keep a bottle of water with me and chew gum. I try to remember to breathe through my nose also. I also had some issues with dry eyes so I did talk to my Dr. and she did a blood test for Sjögren’s Syndrome, but everything turned out ok. Good luck! Hope something helps you with this issue:)

JasonAxelrod

Reading this description, have you talked to your doctor about how this may be exercise-induced asthma?

As that sounds pretty spot on to the symptoms I used to get. After my weight loss, and being more mindful of my water intake, I don't seem to have this anymore, but yes, it will still crop up if I have cold symptoms, because of the extra pressure on breathing.

You may want to just ask if you man need an inhaler to take a puff or two during serious workouts, it seriously helps a lot with the pain.

Hm. I was tested for asthma when I was young once, though I wasn't in the middle of any kind of stress test, and it was simply testing my breath capacity, so I suppose not. I do regularly see my cardiologist, though, and one issue that I've continuously brought up is that during strenuous exercise (around when my heart rate gets from 170-190), which for me is pretty much just a brisk jogging pace given how out of shape I am, I started feeling some chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and pain in my back as well. Obviously, when this happens I stop immediately, and we did a stress test to see what was going on (showed that my blood pressure gets really high when my heart rate is that high), but we haven't pursued the next step yet (a nuclear stress test) because she's a little hesitant to risk my fertility by subjecting my blood stream to radiation.

It happened the other week when I was trying the very first workout for C25K, though, so I think I might have to wind up going back to her and talking about it again, or at the very least seeing if it might be a breathing issue, like you said, before jumping into that test (because the tightness is both in my chest and back and has been on my right side and not my left, before, so I don't know).

In either case, I'm going to make an appointment with both my GP and my cardiologist, so hopefully I can get a better idea of whether this breathing thing is just because of being so heavy right now or if it's something else. Thanks so much.

You may be pushing yourself too hard if you can't breathe in your nose and out your mouth.

If you have a lot of excess fat that is bouncing up and down when you jog, try wearing compression clothing. It's supposed to hold that skin in one place and prevent damage to the elasticity of the skin so it doesn't keep "hanging" around after you've lost weight.

Thank you so much for suggesting this. I didn't even think about it contributing to loose skin, which is something I'm really, really trying to curb as much as possible. I'll be looking into some kind of compression clothing soon.

I LOVE the elliptical! I have the same problem. I keep a bottle of water with me and chew gum. I try to remember to breathe through my nose also. I also had some issues with dry eyes so I did talk to my Dr. and she did a blood test for Sjögren’s Syndrome, but everything turned out ok. Good luck! Hope something helps you with this issue:)

I have had chronic dry eye for as long as I can remember. Used to wake up in the middle of the night with a horribly dry throat. I don't think the two are particularly related, but I'll keep this in mind to at least mention in passing to my doctor. I met my deductible for the year, so I might as well check what I'm concerned about.