Relation of Respiratory Water Loss to Coughing after Exercise

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Abstract
Exercise has been shown to result in bronchoconstriction, the extent of which is related to respiratory heat loss. Some normal subjects report coughing after exercise, and to determine whether this might also be related to respiratory heat loss, we monitored cough frequency after hyperpnea with air of varying temperature and water content in seven such subjects. Hyperpnea with fully saturated air at 37°C failed to provoke coughing and was not associated with heat loss or water loss. Hyperpnea with dry air at 37°C resulted in more water loss (P<0.0005), less heat loss (P<0.01), and more coughing (P<0.001) than hyperpnea with subfreezing air. Hyperpnea with ambient air was associated with a similar cough frequency and water loss but with less heat loss (P<0.001) than hyperpnea with subfreezing air. There was a direct relation between cough frequency and respiratory water loss but no consistent relation between cough frequency and respiratory heat loss.