Wheezing

Breath sounds come from the lungs when you breathe in and out. A person can hear these sounds using a stethoscope or simply when breathing. Sometimes, irregular breath sounds might indicate a health issue involving your lungs, such as: • obstruction • inflammation • infection • • Listening to breath sounds is an important part of diagnosing many different medical conditions. A typical breath sound is similar to the sound of air. However, irregular breath sounds • • crackles, high pitched breath sounds that are similar to popping or snapping • wheezing, a high pitched whistling sound that occurs due to the narrowing of the bronchial tubes • A doctor can use a medical instrument called a stethoscope to hear breath sounds. They can hear the breath sounds by placing the stethoscope on your chest, back, or rib cage, or under your collarbone. Irregular breath sounds are usually indicators of health issues in the lungs or airways. The most common causes of these breath sounds are: • • • • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), such as • asthma • • foreign body or Various factors cause the sounds described above: • Rhonchi: These sounds occur when air tries to pass through • Crackles: These sounds occur if the small air sacs in the lungs fill with fluid and there’s air movement in the sacs, such as when you’re breathing. The air sacs fill with fluid when a person has pneumonia or heart failure. • Wheezing: This sound occurs when the bronchial tubes become inflamed and narro...

There are When the airways narrow due to irritation, illness, or a blockage, air moving through them can make a squeaking sound. Some people experience other symptoms as well, including discomfort when breathing or a choking sensation. Causes include: • Asthma: • Allergies: Seasonal and • Physical blockage: Food or other objects can • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): • Bronchitis: • Cold and flu: Infections that cause the common cold or • Pneumonia: • Heart disease: Causes in babies and children Newborns breathe only through the nose, so when they experience congestion or are in the wrong position, they may make a wheezing or squeaking sound. Wheezing in children is common. Around However, lower respiratory infections, such as It is often difficult to diagnose the cause of wheezing based on symptoms alone, and a person should see their doctor if wheezing is causing concern. If a person experiences any of the following, they should go to the emergency room: • struggles with their breathing • wheezing that comes on suddenly • other symptoms, such as chest pain • signs of A person who experiences wheezing but is otherwise able to breathe may wish to wait a few days before seeing a doctor. If the wheezing worsens, they should see a doctor within a day. Wheezing is a symptom rather than a condition. To Determining the frequency and severity of the wheezing, whether it is a new or recurring problem, and if there are any associated symptoms are of great importance in...

Wheezing is more common during expiration because increased intrathoracic pressure during this phase narrows the airways and airways narrow as lung volume decreases. Wheezing during expiration alone indicates milder obstruction than wheezing during both inspiration and expiration, which suggests more severe airway narrowing. By contrast, turbulent flow of air through a narrowed segment of the large, extrathoracic airways produces a whistling inspiratory noise ( Stridor Stridor is a high-pitched, predominantly inspiratory sound. It is most commonly associated with acute disorders, such as foreign body aspiration, but can be due to more chronic disorders, such... read more ). Etiology of Wheezing But wheezing may occur in other disorders affecting the small airways, including Heart Failure (HF) Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome of ventricular dysfunction. Left ventricular (LV) failure causes shortness of breath and fatigue, and right ventricular (RV) failure causes peripheral and abdominal... read more (cardiac asthma), allergic reactions, including Anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is an acute, potentially life-threatening, IgE-mediated allergic reaction that occurs in previously sensitized people when they are reexposed to the sensitizing antigen. Symptoms... read more , and Irritant Gas Inhalation Injury Irritant gases are those which, when inhaled, dissolve in the water of the respiratory tract mucosa and cause an inflammatory response, usually due to the release of acidic or alkal...

After the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, there was an increased incidence of VCD among 9/11 first responders, which is believed to have been a result of the workers inhaling dust and chemicals at Ground Zero. Less Common Causes Various types of infections, allergic reactions, and other health concerns can all cause pulmonary obstructions that result in wheezing. Among these less common causes of wheezing are: • Structural abnormalities. This includes enlarged Anatomic problems might also include a lung cyst or tumor. • Bronchospasm. This is a sudden narrowing of the airways common in asthma that can also be caused by other illnesses, exercise, a sudden intake of cold air, exposure to smoke, anesthesia, and other circumstances. • Allergies. Wheezing that occurs after eating certain foods, being bitten by an insect, or having been exposed to another allergen is the sign of an allergic reaction. • Foreign body. Choking hazards such as coins, beads, or small candy can be lodged in in the trachea and cause wheezing. • Parainfluenza. Unrelated to the seasonal flu, • Cystic fibrosis. • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). While • Pulmonary embolism. A Tracheoesophageal Fistula A very rare, non-inherited birth defect, tracheoesophageal fistula is a structural problem that causes wheezing. Babies with this condition are born with abnormal connections between the esophagus (the tube that leads from the throat to the stomach) and the trachea (the tube that leads from the thro...

Share on Pinterest FG Trade/Getty Images An individual’s respiratory system comprises many parts, including: • the lungs • the airways, such as the trachea and bronchial tubes • blood vessels and muscles • the ribs • the diaphragm When a person breathes, these parts work together to provide the body with oxygen. During breathing, an individual’s lungs can make a variety of sounds. And while certain lung sounds are typical and indicate that the lungs are working correctly, other lung sounds can indicate an underlying health condition. This article will explore the different lung sounds and what may be causing them. It also discusses potential treatment options and when to speak with a doctor. When a doctor listens to a person’s lungs, they note the frequency, intensity, and quality of the sounds they hear. These factors can help them determine whether the sounds from the lungs are regular or not. Breath sounds can differ depending on where they occur in the respiratory system. Healthcare professionals classify them in the • Normal lung or vesicular breath sound: A doctor can hear this sound over most of the chest with a stethoscope, a device for listening to a person’s internal body sounds. Vesicular breath sounds occur when air flows into and out of the lungs during breathing. The sound is soft, low pitched, and rustling in quality. It is also continuous, more intense, and high pitched during inhalation than exhalation. • Bronchial breath sound: The bronchial breath sound ...