Running + Antibiotics = Caution

by | Jan 22, 2019 | Advice, Diet

Several questions came our way regarding running and medication(s).  Keep in mind, we’re speaking from a coach’s point of view, obviously we’re not physicians, however, if you have any concerns at any time, please refer to your healthcare provider for medical issues.

Question (geared towards dehydration):

  • I’ve been really tired lately and have been getting really bad headaches.  
  • Can this be from training?  
    • Dehydration affects your body, a study conducted by Loughborough University (in the UK) found that a 5% drop in water levels in the body caused 25-30% loss in energy.
    • The study also showed that a 3% drop affected thinking skills with slower metabolism.
    • A second study from the University of Connecticut showed that 1.5% of water loss led to reduced cognitive function, which included headaches and fatigue.

Question (geared towards asthma and dehydration along with training):

  • Can antibiotics affect my running? Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj (best known for his book “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” states that when the body is dehydrated, histamines will begin to “ration” water, which then increases your histamines and the allergic response with lowered immunity.  
  • Chronic dehydration triggers a histamine releases in asthma sufferers which can lead to inflammation and bronchial constriction.    

Medications do wonders but like everything, you’ll want to take caution, if you’re on medications, sometimes it may take a bit longer to recover because you must allow your medications to combat your illness, etc., however, if you’re training during the hot, humid months, then the results can be extremely serious.

All medications have some form of side effects; some antibiotics cause the following during running:

  • Dehydration
  • Affects heart rate
  • Blood pressure rises
  • Cause weakness
  • Dizziness (which may not be manageable while on a long training run)

Ensure you speak to your health care provider;  if you’re off for a training run,  go with your training partner or your group and make it a short training run, you’ll want your body to handle the stress (of running, recovering and training).

Who wants a drink?

Many of us have experienced how difficult it is to run through these hot horrid months or cold winter chills.  We need to stay hydrated, therefore invest in some type of hand held sports bottle/device that holds your valuables i.e. phone, fluids, etc.

Our bodies are mostly made up of water. Your blood is 90% water, sweat is 99% water and your muscle mass is 75% water. Your sweat rate is also affected by several conditions – the clothes you wear, the temperature (heat, humidity, wind, etc.) and the intensity of your training. As a result, during workouts, your body and muscle functions are affected, your blood volume drops and your heart has to work harder to pump oxygen and nutrients into your muscles. Gastrointestinal distress becomes a risk due to delayed stomach draining, thereby causing your body to have a difficult time cooling itself off. As a result, your core temperature rises. Below are key tips to help keep you cool:

  • Thirst is an unreliable way of knowing when you need to hydrate because you are usually 2 – 3% dehydrated before you actually become thirsty. 
  • Everyone requires different amounts of fluid, so use your training runs as a test to see how much water and electrolyte intake you should have. 
  • Drink generous amounts of water throughout the day. You’ll know if you’re consuming enough if your urine is clear.
  • Avoid caffeine – this can dehydrate you, unless you have been practicing drinking it prior to your runs. As a rule of thumb, for every one-cup of caffeine, you’ll want to flush out your system with four cups of water.
  • Medical studies have also shown that antihistamines will decrease your ability to sweat and cause you to overheat, so avoid taking antihistamines, such as Benadryl, while training (unless otherwise directed by your healthcare provider).
  • During your long run, hydrate at least every 20 minutes. You’ll also want to take in some electrolytes. Good hydration can make a critical difference in your performance, especially on hot and humid days.

Information taken from various resources: Physician’s Drug Handbook, Sports Journal of Medicine.  Medications below may affect your running, ensure you speak to your healthcare provider about your medications and running, whether it’s the hot dog days of summer or winter wonderland:

  • Antibiotics. These comprise a wide variety of chemical compounds, and though most are generally harmless to runners, one class-the fluoroquinolones-can cause weakness and rupture of connective tissue (e.g. tendons), making alternative drugs better choices for athletes. Examples of fluoroquinolones include Cipro and Levaquin (I have personal experience with this one, not fun).
  • Antihistamines (Claritin, Allegra). Can often have a sedating side effects the impact of this on exercise relates more to motivation than actual fatigue.
  • Bronchodilators/Asthma medications (Proventil, Ventolin). Many runners with asthma or exercise-induced asthma rely on drugs of this class for normal breathing function. Although some people may experience an increase in heart rate after using an inhaler, this should not adversely affect performance.
  • Certain inhalers (Azmacort, Pulmicort) contain corticosteroids-drugs chemically distinct from their cousins, anabolic steroids. If taken correctly, the effects of these steroids on non-respiratory systems are negligible.
  • Antidepressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft). No problems are known in relation to antidepressants can cause, and actually running clearly helps treat the disease-depression-targeted by these drugs.
  • Certain older antidepressants, known collectively as tricyclics-Elavil and Pamelor are examples-carry a risk of cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), but this risk is not known to increase with running.
  • Birth-control pills. Some female runners lose their menstrual periods because of running and birth control pills would obviously restore them. Many women may not like one common side effect of birth-control pills: weight gain.
  • Hormone-replacement therapy (Premarin). These drugs should not adversely effect running. In fact, given that they help maintain a healthy heart by keeping cholesterol down, one could argue that they are beneficial. They also promote stronger bones, another benefit to runners.
  • Beta-blockers (Inderal, Tenormin, Lopressor). These medications, which essentially act on the heart as governors do on a car engine, are a definite no-no for any runner. These drugs protect the heart and lower blood pressure by slowing the heart rate, but also prevent it from increasing even during activity.
  • Other blood-pressure medications (Cardizem, Adalat, Capoten, Vasotec). These should not cause problems, hypertension is generally not a reason to stop running-in fact, running is beneficial to people with high blood pressure. Such drugs are often combined with diuretics (Lasix, Hydrodiuril); doctors urge caution in such cases, noting that diuretics can affect electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, chloride), thereby impacting heart and muscle function.
 
Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA):
EIA is when you’re wheezing and shortness of breath occurs during training (yes, think about our days at Oval Office) or after a hard training run or race. This can also happen to athletes who never experienced wheezing at any other time or perhaps when allergies or infections kick in or for athletes who have asthma at other times.  Athletes with EIA can start to wheeze or have shortness of breath several minutes after they start to train, and find that symptoms become more severe after about 10 minutes of training. Generally, shortness of breath and coughing usually improve withing 30 minutes after stopping your training, but some folks have experienced milder symptoms for up to 12 hours.
 
What is Asthma? Is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It’s characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction and bronchospasm. Symptoms include: episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. These episodes may occur a few times a day, year, or week. Asthma can be genetic or environmental especially with exposure to cold air, dry air (such as indoor track); stress; anger, very hard laugh, air pollution, cleaning agents,  and allergens. Other triggers: medications, aspirin, beta blockers. (it’s always best to check with your healthcare provider).