 scientific meeting has shown that sex-induced asthma may be common - but people are too embarrassed to talk about it with their doctor. Dr Ariel Leung, Chief Internal Medicine Resident at Saint Agnes Medical Center 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 realize 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. Although they found only a handful of cases, they believe the problem is likely to be more widespread, but people do not realise that it is sex that is causing their asthma, or are reluctant to talk about the problem with their doctor. Approximately five to 20 percent of the general population suffer from exercise-induced asthma, so experts think the problem could be common. Asthma UK advises that if sex is causing asthma it is a sign that the condition is not being controlled properly. The charity warned that intercourse should be treated like exercise because it raises the heart rate and can cause more rapid breathing. 'Another possible cause of underreporting of this condition is the intimate nature of the subject,' said Dr A M Aminian, an ACAAI member and co-author of the study. 'People may not be comfortable discussing with their allergist an asthma flare that was){kind=link}
Scientists say sexual intercourse is as strenuous as walking up two flights of stairs and could – quite literally – take your breath away
Most people would welcome a steamy encounter between the sheets which took their breath away.
But scientists have warned that sexual intercourse is as strenuous as walking up two flights of stairs, and could trigger a dangerous asthma attack.
A new study being presented at this year’s American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) scientific meeting has shown that sex-induced asthma may be common – but people are too embarrassed to talk about it with their doctor.
Dr Ariel Leung, Chief Internal Medicine Resident at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, said: “We wanted to investigate whether case studies on asthma exacerbations mentioned sexual activity as a possible cause.