Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Wheezing?What It Sounds LikeCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Wheezing?
What It Sounds Like
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Wheezing occurs when your breath sounds like a high-pitched whistle. Wheezing can occur with certain lung and medical conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While common for some people, it can also be a sign of a medical emergency.
You can have wheezing without other symptoms, or it may occur alongside other symptoms, such as shortness of breath. A healthcare provider should diagnose the cause of your wheezing so you can get effective treatment.
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When to Seek Emergency CareWheezing can be a sign of respiratory distress. Call for emergency medical help if you are experiencing chest pains, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, a bluish tint to your lips and skin, or swelling of your face, neck, or lips.
When to Seek Emergency Care
Wheezing can be a sign of respiratory distress. Call for emergency medical help if you are experiencing chest pains, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, a bluish tint to your lips and skin, or swelling of your face, neck, or lips.
Wheezing occurs when air moves through narrowed airways. This narrowing can be due to swelling or blockage anywhere from the throat down to the smallest airways.Most people think ofasthmawhen they hear wheezing, but other causes need to be considered, too.
Wheezing usually comes from the bronchial tubes, which are the small airways in the lungs. However, it can also happen with a blockage in the larger airways or conditions involving the vocal cords.
Sometimes people have more than one condition that leads to wheezing.
What Does Wheezing Sound Like?
Wheezing is often a medium-pitched sound that is loudest when breathing out, though it can also occur when breathing in. It has a fairly continuous musical sound including more than one note.
Wheezing vs. Stridor
Wheezing occurs in the lungs (the lower airway) while stridor occurs in the upper airway and can involve the throat or voice box.There are subtle but important differences between the sounds of wheezing and stridor:
Wheezing indicates you have a condition that is causing a narrowing of your airways. The most common causes of wheezing are asthma andchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but there are many potential causes including:
Why is my breathing wheezy at night?Many things can cause wheezy breathing at night, including:Increased mucus production and/or postnasal dripConditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or sleep apneaCold air, smoke, or indoor allergens
Why is my breathing wheezy at night?
Many things can cause wheezy breathing at night, including:Increased mucus production and/or postnasal dripConditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or sleep apneaCold air, smoke, or indoor allergens
Many things can cause wheezy breathing at night, including:
If you have been wheezing or have had a change in symptoms, it is important to see your healthcare professional—even if you have experienced wheezing in the past or have been diagnosed with asthma.
Evaluation
The first thing your practitioner will do is to make sure you are comfortable and stable. In an emergency, medical personnel and technicians begin with “ABC.” This stands for airway, breathing, then circulation. It is important to assess these before going on to try to determine what is actually causing the wheezing.
Once you are stable, your medical team will talk to you about your medical history and perform a physical exam.
Some of the questions they may ask you include:
Your physical examination will usually begin with measurements of your vital signs,oxygen level, and a lung and heart auscultation.
Testing
Tests to evaluate your wheezing and determine a cause will vary depending upon your history and physical examination.
Testing may include:
How to Stop Wheezing
If you have mild wheezing due to an illness such as a cold or flu, you may be able to treat it at home with remedies such as:
If you have a more serious condition that requires a visit to a healthcare provider, thetreatmentyou receive will depend on how serious your symptoms are and what the underlying cause is.
If you have asthma or COPD, treatment will usually include a prescribed inhaler or other medications that help keep your airways open. If your healthcare provider suspects there may be a foreign object blocking your airways, they may order a procedure such as a bronchoscopy.
Summary
To diagnose the cause of your wheezing, your healthcare provider will listen to your breathing and may run tests, such as a chest X-ray, spirometry, or blood tests. Treatment will focus on opening the airways or treating any underlying conditions.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine.Wheezing.Sarkar M, Madabhavi I, Niranjan N, Dogra M.Auscultation of the respiratory system.Ann Thorac Med. 2015;10(3):158-68. doi:10.4103/1817-1737.160831Johns Hopkins Medicine.Stridor versus wheezing: When noisy breathing is something more.Irwin R.Evaluation of wheezing illnesses other than asthma in adults.Ramos MB, Botana-Rial M, Garcia-Fontan E, Fernandez-Villar A, Torreira MG.Update in the extraction of airway foreign bodies in adults.J Thorac Dis.2016;8(11):3452–3456. doi:10.21037/jtd.2016.11.32Celmina M, Paule S.Stridor in children.Breathe (Sheff). 2018;14(3):e111–e117. doi:10.1183/20734735.017018Allergy & Asthma Network.What is nocturnal asthma?Additional ReadingOo S, Le Souef P.The wheezing child: An algorithm.Aust Fam Physician. 2015;44(6):360-4.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine.Wheezing.Sarkar M, Madabhavi I, Niranjan N, Dogra M.Auscultation of the respiratory system.Ann Thorac Med. 2015;10(3):158-68. doi:10.4103/1817-1737.160831Johns Hopkins Medicine.Stridor versus wheezing: When noisy breathing is something more.Irwin R.Evaluation of wheezing illnesses other than asthma in adults.Ramos MB, Botana-Rial M, Garcia-Fontan E, Fernandez-Villar A, Torreira MG.Update in the extraction of airway foreign bodies in adults.J Thorac Dis.2016;8(11):3452–3456. doi:10.21037/jtd.2016.11.32Celmina M, Paule S.Stridor in children.Breathe (Sheff). 2018;14(3):e111–e117. doi:10.1183/20734735.017018Allergy & Asthma Network.What is nocturnal asthma?Additional ReadingOo S, Le Souef P.The wheezing child: An algorithm.Aust Fam Physician. 2015;44(6):360-4.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Library of Medicine.Wheezing.Sarkar M, Madabhavi I, Niranjan N, Dogra M.Auscultation of the respiratory system.Ann Thorac Med. 2015;10(3):158-68. doi:10.4103/1817-1737.160831Johns Hopkins Medicine.Stridor versus wheezing: When noisy breathing is something more.Irwin R.Evaluation of wheezing illnesses other than asthma in adults.Ramos MB, Botana-Rial M, Garcia-Fontan E, Fernandez-Villar A, Torreira MG.Update in the extraction of airway foreign bodies in adults.J Thorac Dis.2016;8(11):3452–3456. doi:10.21037/jtd.2016.11.32Celmina M, Paule S.Stridor in children.Breathe (Sheff). 2018;14(3):e111–e117. doi:10.1183/20734735.017018Allergy & Asthma Network.What is nocturnal asthma?
National Library of Medicine.Wheezing.
Sarkar M, Madabhavi I, Niranjan N, Dogra M.Auscultation of the respiratory system.Ann Thorac Med. 2015;10(3):158-68. doi:10.4103/1817-1737.160831
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Stridor versus wheezing: When noisy breathing is something more.
Irwin R.Evaluation of wheezing illnesses other than asthma in adults.
Ramos MB, Botana-Rial M, Garcia-Fontan E, Fernandez-Villar A, Torreira MG.Update in the extraction of airway foreign bodies in adults.J Thorac Dis.2016;8(11):3452–3456. doi:10.21037/jtd.2016.11.32
Celmina M, Paule S.Stridor in children.Breathe (Sheff). 2018;14(3):e111–e117. doi:10.1183/20734735.017018
Allergy & Asthma Network.What is nocturnal asthma?
Oo S, Le Souef P.The wheezing child: An algorithm.Aust Fam Physician. 2015;44(6):360-4.
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