Lung Disease & Respiratory Health Center
Understanding Wheezing -- the Basics
What Is Wheezing?
Many people with respiratory allergies know that bouts of wheezing often come with the arrival of hay fever season. Mild wheezing may also accompany respiratory infections such as acute bronchitis and may be experienced by patients in heart failure and by some with emphysema (or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD). But the characteristic whistling sound of wheezing is a primary symptom of the chronic respiratory disease asthma.
A variety of conventional and alternative remedies can alleviate wheezing. However, you should be regularly monitored by a doctor if you have asthma, severe allergies, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or COPD. It is often worthwhile to be evaluated at least once by a specialist such as an allergist or pulmonologist.
For optimal asthma relief, it’s important to take responsibility for self-care. With the help of your doctor, you can get the best asthma relief by checking your peak flow daily, developing an asthma action plan with your doctor, keeping an asthma diary, avoiding asthma triggers, and using natural asthma therapies to help increase relaxation. Getting the best asthma relief means staying on top of your asthma triggers, signs and symptoms, and medications to prevent asthma problems.
Read the Asthma Relief and Self-Care article > >
What Causes Wheezing?
The whistling sound that characterizes wheezing occurs when air moves through airways that are narrowed, much like the way a whistle or flute makes music. In asthma, this airway narrowing is due to inflammation and spasm of the muscles in the wall of the airways.
Wheezing is usually the result of one of the following health problems:
- Asthma
- Allergic reactions to pollen, chemicals, pet dander, dust, foods, or insect stings
- Acute or chronic bronchitis, which can produce excess mucus in the respiratory tract and cause the lungs' passageways to become blocked
Less commonly, wheezing may also be caused by these health problems:
- Cystic fibrosis
- Obstruction from a foreign body which has been inhaled (such as a coin)
- A tumor in the lungs (rare in non-smokers)
- Congestive heart failure (usually in older adults)
WebMD Medical Reference
