Bus / Lorry / Car fumes 'n breathing probs

nich

:evil:

Few weeks ago I remember taking a mouthful of black stuff from the back of a bus exhaust. Couple of days later I did the same with a lorry, and no doubt each day I take in more and more.

I've been commuting every week since then but I've noticed a few issues cropping up in the last couple of weeks where I'm finding myself short of breath - needing to get a good deep breathe in every so often. This seems to happen throughout the day a bit, but seems like it's a bit worse straight after the biking.

Along with this is a bit of tightness in the chest. Not got any other symptoms, and never been diagnosed with anything like asthma.

I can't help thinking it's todo with the fumes I'm breathing in, although I've been fine a numbef of months previous to this and never had any issues in the past.

Got myself booked into the docs this Friday to see if they can offer any suggestions, plus I'm gonna start using a face-mask thing to see if it makes any difference, although I think I'll take a break this week.

Anyone else suffer similar issues?

Cafewanda

Lived in London all my life but am sure I had my asthma before I got on the bike. Cycling just emphasised it :roll:


You need to stay away from inhaling vehicle fumes mate. You'll get yourself a name or sectioned

nich

Aye. There have defiantly been 3 or 4 occasions in the last month when I've eaten the black stuff. I'm far more careful now and don't chase down buses anymore :twisted:

hfidgen

yeah have to say I've had to literally get off the bike and wait a few mins to let some banger of a bus get ahead of me up the road before cycling on again.

I see a lot of guys around central London in "hannibal" gas masks, but I've not got a clue whether they work or what they're like to ride with. Can't imagine the experience is anything but sweaty... :roll:

Headhuunter

The masks are hard to get used to, they inibit your breathing quite a bit and make your face sweaty (and snotty). Also you can't shout at errant pedestrians wandering out in front of you and I haven't got a bell on my bike. When I tried one out, it made a difference, when I arrived my throat felt clearer, however I think that was largely because the mask means you are beathing moist air and I've discovered that just taking water with me on my commute on dry, hot days has the same effect. If you like to bike as hard as you can on the commute then I wouldn't go with a mask, only do it if you're a fairly steady cyclist.

nich

I got a face-mask and used it for the first time today

It's something I can see myself getting used to quite easily, but it makes breathing a bit harder. It is a lovely feeling when you take it off though

When I wasn't behind much traffic I just pulled it down if I felt I needed some more air, but on the whole it's not too bad.

Still have the short off breath issue during the day, but it doesn't get any worse on the bike. In fact yesterday I took the train in, and it did get worse! Maybe it's stress related, got a doctor's appointment on Friday

iPete

Made any changes in your recent mileage?

I went from nothing to 150+ mile weeks, needless to say it knackered my lungs, suffered from shortness of breath off the bike for a couple of weeks until thing strengthened up, it was horrible! If you haven't increased effort, ignore that ramble!

nich

I've not increased mileage, but I think I've got a bit fitter, so can maintain better speeds - maybe I have been pushing too hard as well.

There was a few days of horrible headwind where I went into it quite hard, I tend to go for it when I'm up against the weather :twisted:

MonkeyMonster

I don't agree that much with the "you can't put the hammer down with one on". I don't get snotty either. The moist air you get used to and riding without one gets noticeably drier throated.
I've used one for ages as has RJSTerry and we both like them a lot. The only issues I've encountered are shade postion clashes but you get used to where it can go - because of the nose piece on the filter.
If you have issues and it feels better with it - then I'd suggest sticking with it.

rjsterry

If you flog yourself, and end up inhaling a lot of exhaust, you will more than likely bring out any latent asthma symptom, which may not have troubled you before. I wear a mask for this reason, and it does the job. If I leave the mask off for a day, I can kid myself I've got away with it, until I get home and spend the whole evening clearing my throat. It takes a day or so of wearing the mask again for the symptoms to disappear again.

I don't find the breathing restriction thing too much of a problem unless I'm really going for it, and as you say, you can always pull the mask down for a while if need be.

Stress certainly won't help, and that might have been the 'last straw' on top of the exercise and pollution, that brought on your symptoms. I had a very long winded process of GP, referral to a consultant, chest x-rays, etc. and in the meantime, I tried the mask, which sorted the problem out while I was waiting for the second appointment with the consultant. Having said that, I'm glad they checked that it wasn't anything more serious.

Stick at it with the mask - you might develop a taste for it :twisted:

Headhuunter

I've also heard that the masks make very little difference to PM10 particles, the microscopic particles largely from diesel engines which are less than a tenth of a millimetre across or whatever. These are the particles which cause most trouble in cities.

rjsterry

They don't claim to filter out everything, but they do filter out a hell of a lot. Here is one of my filters after 2 weeks use. It might not be the worst part of the pollution, but I'd still rather it didn't end up in my lungs. Bottom line, I've felt a benefit, which I lose when I stop using the mask.