ASTHMA
Asthma (or Asthma bronchial) is a disease that hurts the airways inside the lungs. It causes the tissue inside the airways to swell. Asthma also causes the bands of muscle around the airways to become narrow. This makes it hard for enough air to pass through and for the person to breathe normally. Asthma also causes mucus-making cells inside the airways to make more mucus than normal. This blocks the airways, which are already very narrow during an asthma attack, and makes it even more difficult to breathe. Wheezing is usually high-pitched. It sounds musical, like whistling. Usually, wheezing is heard first when a person is breathing out. If it gets worse, wheezing starts happening when the patient breathes in and out
WHEEZING
Wheezing is caused by the airways being too narrow. This can happen because of diseases like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).[3]
If the airways are too narrow, the oxygen the body needs cannot get through. This can become a medical emergency.
There are a few different treatments that can be used for wheezing:[4]
• The patient can be given supplemental (extra) oxygen through a mask.
• Sometimes, moist, hot air can help wheeze. Sitting in an area like a shower, or using a vaporizer (which creates moist, warm air) may be helpful for mild wheezing. Emergency medical technicians or hospitals can also give humidified oxygen, which is mixed with warm water to make the oxygen into a warm steam.
• There are medicines called bronchodilators that relax and open up the airways. This reverses the cause of wheezing and makes it easier to breathe. Albuterol is a very common bronchodilator and is carried on many ambulances. Bronchodilators can be given in inhalers or in a nebulizer (which mixes Strider
Strider is a high-pitched sound that usually happens when a person breathes in. It may sound a lot like wheezing. Medical professionals can tell the difference by listening to the throat with a stethoscope. If the sound they hear is louder in the throat, it is strider, not wheezing.[5]
Strider is usually caused by something blocking the larynx (voice box). This can happen because:[5]
• A person is choking "and "an object is blocking the larynx
• A person has an infection, and swelling in the throat or airways blocks the larynx
• The muscles in the airway or vocal cords spasm (suddenly get tighter); this is called largo spasm
Like wheezing, strider can signal a medical emergency if not enough oxygen is able to get through the airways.
• Helping a person stop choking by using choke saving (like the Heimlich maneuver)
• Treating the infection that is causing swelling in the larynx
• Giving medicines to help the muscles in the airway or vocal cords relax
• No matter what the cause is, giving extra oxygen may also help
The medicine with warm water to make the medicine into steam).
Children are more likely to have strider because of choking. They are more likely to choke because their airways are smaller. They are also more likely to get childhood infections like croup or epiglottis that can cause strider.
Rales (fine crackles)Edit
Rales are also called fine crackles, because they often sound like a fine crackling noise. They are heard when a person breathes in, on both sides (in both lungs). Rales may also sound like bubbling, rattling, or small clicking sounds.[3]
Rales are heard when a person has fluid in their lungs.[3] This is called pulmonary edema. Pulmonary edema may happen for many reasons, like:[6]
• Congestive heart failure (CHF)
• Pneumonia or other infections in the lungs
• Injury to the lung
• Blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism)
• Breathing in smoke
You must be logged in to post a comment.