This article explains why you may cough after exercise and why it’s more common when you run in the cold. It also covers remedies for these coughing attacks and tips on when to seek medical help for your cough.
What Causes You to Cough After Running
One of the most common causes of coughing after running is exercise-induced bronchoconstriction or EIB. This condition affects up to 20% of the general population and up to 90% of people with asthma. It’s so closely connected to asthma, EIB used to be called exercise-induced asthma.
Val Thoermer/EyeEm/Getty Images
If you have EIB, you might experience coughing or wheezing after running. Some people have additional symptoms like chest tightness or burning lungs. Symptoms usually start between five and 20 minutes after you start exercising, and they last for about an hour. In some people, symptoms of EIB don’t start until the exercise is finished and the airways begin to warm up again.
Healthcare providers believe that the increased breathing rate and mouth breathing during exercises like running can irritate the airways. That leads to the symptoms of EIB. The symptoms are often worse during cold weather since cold, dry air itself can irritate the airways.
In addition to EIB, running can also cause exercise-induced rhinitis, or nasal irritation. This can lead to post-nasal drip, which might make you cough.
How to Stop Coughing Attacks After a Run
Although post-run coughing can be uncomfortable and annoying, it should not stop you from exercising. Exercise is important to health, especially for people with asthma.
Instead, you should talk with your healthcare provider and experiment with lifestyle changes that can help ease symptoms or prevent EIB or exercise-induced rhinitis.
Lifestyle Changes
Simple changes to your workout routine can help you stop coughing after your runs. To reduce symptoms and prevent coughing:
Run indoors on days when the air is particularly cold and dry. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth to reduce mouth breathing. Wear a loose-fitting scarf or face covering when running outside. This will help warm the air you inhale before it enters your lungs. Warm up and cool down for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning and end of your workout.
Medication
If you frequently cough after you exercise, it’s best to speak with your healthcare provider. This is particularly important if you have asthma. Coughing after running can be a sign that asthma isn’t well controlled and that your treatment plan needs to be adjusted.
Your healthcare provider might recommend asthma treatments, including controller medications, which are taken daily, and rescue medication, which is used only when you begin to experience symptoms.
If You Have a Lingering Cough
EIB usually resolves within an hour. If your cough lasts longer than that, you might be dealing with a different condition. Common causes of cough, like viral infections, can lead to coughing for up to three weeks.
For lingering coughs, you should see your healthcare provider because it may be a sign of an underlying or chronic condition. You may need a prescription treatment like an inhaler and other medication, or you may need to make lifestyle changes to help ease your cough.
If you experience trouble breathing, facial swelling, or any other distressing symptoms, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Summary
Coughing after running is common, even in people who are fit and healthy. This is due to EIB, a condition where exercise causes the airways to become irritated. Cold air can make that irritation worse.
Exercising indoors, wearing a scarf, and warming up properly can reduce symptoms of EIB. You should see a healthcare provider if you have asthma and cough after running or if your cough persists for more than an hour after exercise and lingers for more than three weeks.
A Word From Verywell
Having a coughing fit after you go for a run can make you feel out of shape. However, it’s not an indication of your fitness. Especially in cold weather, running can irritate the airways, leading to coughing. However, exercise is still important, so talk with your doctor about lifestyle changes and treatments to help you manage or prevent post-run coughing.
