As a regular jogger, I run a few times in the morning each week, and I found myself coughing lately when the temperature went below 12°C. The cough was more persistent within 30 minutes after the run, and some mucus came out occasionally with the cough. But after that, the cough would disappear, and I would feel quite normal.
Then I realized it must have something to do with cold air. So I decided to do some experiments by wearing the elastomeric exercise mask AYO HC in my run.
Here is the summary result so far:
| Date | Temperature | Distance/Pace | AYO HC | Coughing Status |
| Day 1 | 11°C | 5.4K/6:02/km | No | Yes |
| Day 2 | 8°C | 4K/6:20/km | Yes | No |
| Day 3 | 7°C | 7.1K/5:55/km | Yes | No |
| Day 4 | 9°C | 10.8K/6:11/km | Yes | No |
| Day 5 | 3°C | 7.1K/5.51/km | Yes | No |
It is very convincing that AYO HC helped me stop the cough.
Here are my thoughts:
- For some reason (God only knows) I have mucus in my throat that becomes irritated with cold air.
- During jogging, breathing volume increases, passing more cold air through my airways and making them drier, irritating, and making me cough.
- When I wear AYO HC, it warms the air before it travels into my airways, and it also brings in the moisture accumulated from my previous breaths.
- This makes the mucus less irritating. Even better, it dilutes the mucus making it flow out of my nose/mouth naturally removing the source of irritant without coughing!!
- When we exercise in cold windy conditions, we would put on hoodies to keep our upper body and head warm, tights to keep our legs and knees warm, and gloves to keep our hands warm. However, we often forget about our more sensitive airways!!
- It is logical and makes perfect sense to wear a proper mask to shield the cold wind from going straight into our airways, to warm and moisten the air before breathing in.
I think many people like me may benefit by wearing AYO HC too in this situation, especially for asthmatics and people with COPD symptoms.
So I recommend that people with sensitive and vulnerable respiratory systems wear AYO HC when exercising outdoors if the air is cold and windy.
AYO HC can also protect you in case of air pollution from wood or coal burning that typically occurs in winter, as AYO HC is a P2 / N95 medical-grade respirator. Due to its low-profile design, great field of view, and elastomeric reusable nature, AYO HC is suitable for many outdoor exercises, such as jogging, cycling, and walking.
Now, you may wonder how I dealt with the mucus flowing out of my nose and mouth when I wore the mask?
I lipped it and swallowed it back to my stomach!!
Gross? I would rather do that than coughing or spitting 😊
About the author:
Eric Fu, founder of Aimwell, exercise enthusiast.