Swimming and Asthma

[jdbyogi]

I've been trying to swim more lately, largely to give my legs a bit of a break from running while they recover, and because I know it's a great full body workout. I also have asthma.

I've been looking online and it seems sort of mixed- some say swimming is great because the air at the surface of the water is warm and humid and less likely to cause symptoms. But then you also see that chlorine and gases can actually cause or worsen symptoms.

Is there any sort of general guideline about swimming and asthma? I was checking out the link below about the plans to swim a mile, which seem awesome. Recently I went swimming (laps, not just causal swimming) for the first time in years, and while my muscles felt okay, at times I still felt like I was gasping for air. I'd love it if swimming could actually help increase the capacity of my lungs, or help with running, etc.

[Brie]

I have asthma and did a lot of swimming (and the zero to one mile program) last summer. The humidity of the pool always irritated my lungs--always has, always will. It did really help me slow down and think about my breathing, though, and made me generally more mindful of it with other sports.
I just made sure to keep my rescue inhaler at the side of the pool in case of an emergency, and I wore a RoadID on my wrist that indicated I have asthma in case I ever needed to be assisted by a lifeguard but couldn't talk.

[mrsmag]

I have asthma, and for me, it's *mostly* like any other exercise. I take my albuterol before I go, and I'm usually great. Open water can bother my allergies if there's a lot of pollen in the air, and that can aggravate my allergies, which irritates my asthma.