The objective of this research was to gain knowledge from management of exercise-induced asthma of young competitive swimmers. The subject was studied from the perspective of nursing and physiotherapy. Using interview as a method we tried to find out competitive swimmers’ personal experiences of exercise-induced asthma. The purpose of this Bachelors thesis is to deliver new information of competitive swimmers’ exercise-induced asthma to the swimmers themselves, their parents, coaches and maybe even professionals of health care. In addition the purpose was that the coaches could notice the first symptoms of exercise-induced asthma and they would know what kind of means there are to handle exercise-induced asthma during training and competition. The commissioner of the Bachelor thesis is a medium-sized swimming club of which no further information can be given for preserving their privacy.

The study utilized the views of phenomenology and hermeneutics to solve the research problems. The data collection was carried out through theme interviewing the individuals. Interviewees were four 13–21-year-old competitive swimmers who participated in the interviews on a voluntary basis. Children under the age of 15 were asked to get approaval from their parents in writing to participate. The data received from interviews was analyzed using a content analysis.

All competitive swimmers had a lot of different views and personal experiences related to exercise-induced asthma. Based on the interviews, it was found that the competitive swimmers suffering from exercise-induced asthma have symptoms in different areas of physical and psychological functioning. In addition, competitive swimmers exercise-induced asthma can be managed with medication, physical training, psyche and different kind of self-care. In particular, medical treatment, information gained from exercise-induced asthma and self-care are an important part of the management of competitive swimmers’ exercise-induced asthma and asthma. The research questions were answered, but the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma and management methods are individual, so there cannot be generalized conclusions from the research results.