Know what is wheezing (breath sounds)?

Have Hermina's Friends ever heard of wheezing?. Wheezing is the sound produced by air flowing through narrowed airways. Wheezing itself is a symptom of temporary respiratory problems or serious conditions that require treatment by a doctor.

Wheezing is characterized by whistling-like breath sounds and is accompanied by symptoms of shortness of breath and sometimes fever. Without realizing it, the appearance of wheezing can be a sign that Hermina's friend is experiencing respiratory problems, such as asthma, allergies, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

 

Causes of Wheezing

Wheezing is caused when there is a blockage or narrowing of the respiratory tract in the throat or the channel leading to the lungs. In addition to narrowing the respiratory tract, narrowing of the vocal cords also causes wheezing. The sound of wheezing varies depending on which part of the respiratory system is narrowed or blocked. Apart from asthma, allergies, and pneumonia, there are several other causes of wheezing, including:

• Inhaled a foreign body.
• Respiratory tract infection.
• Heart failure and acid reflux.
• Disorders of the vocal cords
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Lung cancer.
• And smoking.

 

Diagnosis of Wheezing

You can have a doctor examine you with a stethoscope to listen to breath or lung sounds to determine the cause of your wheezing. If you have wheezing for the first time, your doctor will recommend a supporting examination. such as chest x-rays and spirometry (a breathing test).

Blood tests and allergy shots are also recommended by doctors, depending on the history of the disease you are suffering from and the results of the doctor's examination.

 

How to Overcome Wheezing

Depending on the cause, wheezing can be overcome. If wheezing is caused by asthma, you can treat it with several types of drugs that can be used, namely:

• Combination inhaler and corticosteroid
• Bronchodilators in the form of inhalers to widen the respiratory tract
• Inhaled corticosteroids and asthma controller medications to reduce inflammation

Apart from medication, the treatment of asthma is to avoid the causes of the disease so that complaints of wheezing and shortness of breath do not appear. If wheezing is caused by bronchitis, you can do as per the doctor's instructions, namely:

• Bronchodilators to relieve wheezing
• Antibiotics if the bronchitis is caused by a bacterial infection

To relieve discomfort due to wheezing, Friends of Hermina can do home care by inhaling steam filled with warm water, taking a bath with warm water, or using a humidifier.

Therefore, Friends of Hermina can avoid wheezing by bathing in hot water, inhaling warm steam, and avoiding the causes of asthma in order to avoid wheezing and shortness of breath itself. If Hermina's friend experiences wheezing accompanied by severe shortness of breath or the threat of respiratory failure, you can immediately consult a hospital to be treated by a doctor.