Crystal Lake IL specialists treat wheezing by assessing many potential causes, including asthma

Wheezing is often compared to a high-pitched whistle. You may hear it when you (or your child) breathe out. The sound you hear is actually air trying to move through breathing passages that have narrowed.

When breathing isn’t impaired, the muscles around the airways are relaxed. Air travels freely. If you have asthma, common viruses, allergens, cold, irritants, exercise, and other triggers cause muscles to tighten. Air can’t move easily through these breathing passages to your lungs. With less air moving through, you may feel it’s difficult to breathe. Breathing difficulty may be accompanied by wheezing. For the above physiological reasons, wheezing indicates breathing problems and it is considered a “classic” sign of asthma.

With asthma, “recurring” wheezing is key. Specifically, the inflamed and easily irritated airways associated with asthma are to blame.

Keep in mind that asthma-related wheezing may be present with:

• Recurrent feelings of chest tightness
• Persistent coughing
• Coughing that worsens with physical activity or weather changes
• Pre-existing diagnosis of allergies, the skin condition eczema, or asthma
• Family history of allergies

It’s important to note wheezing is not a surefire predictor of asthma, and wheezing does not always accompany asthma.

A number of other conditions may cause you or your loved ones to wheeze:

• In children, lower respiratory infections frequently produce wheezing because airways are so small
• Inhaling a foreign object or an obstruction
• Abnormalities in airway structure
• Vocal cord problems

Dr. Noga Askenazi and the staff can identify the root of your wheezing and prescribe treatments that may include:

• Humidifiers, which add moisture to the air to relieve mild symptoms
• Warm drinks to relax the airway, loosen up related mucus
• Avoiding exposure to smoke, including secondhand. Smoke can further irritate your airways and worsen coughing.
• Medications, such as long-term inhaled corticosteroids and short-acting “relief” meds for symptoms caused by asthma

Dr. Askenazi will inventory you or your family member’s signs and symptoms. Keep in mind when the wheezing first started. Be prepared to describe how it sounds, and when it seems to happen or worsen.

The answers to these questions could all provide clues to a cause and help us treat wheezing in CrystalLake IL. The local office of the Advanced Allergy & Asthma Associates and Food Allergy Center of Illinois is off Old Rand Road, between Route 22 and Route 12/Rand Road. Call (847) 888-8802 to schedule an appointment.

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