Just got back from a ride and have a really bad cough brought on by the cold. Does anyone know what causes it and how to prevent/treat it?

Anyone?

It’s caused by the cold. To prevent it, stay warm…

high necked jacket or buff might help. Also keep your chest warm.
Some people are just prone to it…like me.

Possibly cold, dry air narrowing your airways, wearing a Buff or something over you mouth/nose might help warm and moisten the air. I just live with it. Nasty at high altitude.

My doc said it was exercise induced asthma when I asked him about it and sent me off with a blue inhaler. I have found taking a sudafed capsule before I go out is more useful than my inhaler. I stil sound like I smoke 60-a-day after a cold ride though.
I struggle to breathe through a buff when I’m riding but I agree that warming the air as you breathe in would help.

Could be Exercise Induced Asthma, but I would expect you to be a bit wheezy etc rather than just a straight plain cough?

Yeh, I am generally ok, but if I breathe in deeply after a ride in the cold I start coughing quite badly, like TN I sound like a smoker afterwards. It usually only takes 6hrs or so for it to go once I’ve warmed up, but it is annoying in the meantime.

I find that the buff just gets soggy with condensation if I wear it over my mouth. I guess it’s just a case of manning up then.

Really does sound like Asthma, it can present its self as a cough with no weezing what so ever

From an Asthma sufferer still “croaky” after todays cold ride

Your nose warms up the air to your lungs, being a mouth breather or exercising means it doesn’t get warmed through. It irritates the lungs a little and makes you cough. That’s it, ok there may be cases of asthma induced by it but probably not that many.

Buff for me works a treat. No more hacking coughs at the end of a ride that often developed into 4-6 weeks of bronchitis 🙁

Starting to think walking might be a better hobby in winter than cycling

Asthma, do you get the same from aircon?

It could also be a viral infection – and the cold weather is just a red herring.

I don’t get it from aircon no, I assume it is caused like people have suggested from breathing cold, dry air through the mouth. When I’m in a place with air conditioning Im not usually doing much exertion so my nose warms it up first. I suppose in people with regular asthma it may be though, I don’t know, I’m no expert.

As for the viral infection I don’t think so Axeman as I have had this problem since doing school cross country runs in winter so unless it’s something really persistent it’s probably not an infection.

Anyway thanks for the tips and information everyone, having read about exercise induced asthma on the internet it seem to be what I have so I think I’ll be trying to breathe through my nose more in future and try putting my buff over my mouth as well.