It may mean that an asthmatic child with exercise induced difficulty needs more medication, and that the asthma is not properly controlled. Many Olympic medals have been won by people with asthma. Also, many children with asthma achieve provincial and national colours for their sports. Inhaled corticosteroids are not the same as anabolic steroids used by some athletes to improve their performance. Inhaled corticosteroids for asthma are allowed by sporting regulating agencies.
All children get breathless after exercise.
If exercise is followed by coughing, wheezing or chest tightness, exercise induced asthma is very likely. Your doctor can assist you in making this decision. As the medications are safe, using them is the best way to control exercise induced asthma. However, if you warm up first with some stretching and slow running, the exercise that follows will be managed better. This probably means that your child s asthma is under treated.