The crackling noise in your throat when you exhale is a result of accumulation of fluid or mucus in your lungs and is known as crepitus.
Another cause of a crackling noise in your throat when you exhale are failure of parts of the lungs to inflate as they should.
The crackles in the throat are not a disease itself but they can be a sign of illness or infection.
The crackling noise in your throat indicate something serious is happening in your lungs.
Bibasilar crackles are a bubbling or crackling sound originating from the base of your lungs.
The crackles in your lungs may also occur when the lungs inflate or deflate.
These crackles in the lungs or throat are usually brief, and may be described as sounding wet or dry.
The disease that wheezing can indicate are heart disease, lung disease, chest infections, heart failure, pneumonia, acid reflux disease, bronchitis, Bronchiectasis, COPD, Asthma and even allergies.
Some cases of wheezing are not serious and others are and some cases of wheezing clear up on their own within a few days to a week and other cases of wheezing require an ER visit or doctors visit.
You can tell and know if your wheezing cough is viral or bacterial by the mucus color and how long the coughing or cough lasts.
A cough or wheezing cough that is viral often develops over a day and can become irritating and may only last a few days to a week.
A cough or wheezing cough that is bacterial may last longer than a few days or a few weeks or longer and be prolonged.
If you're coughing up mucus as well then green or yellow mucus means a bacterial infection and white or clear mucus means a viral infection.
Viral infections also often cause sore throats and headaches and bacterial infections often cause chest pain that worsens with coughing or breathing and rapid breathing.
A bacterial infection can also cause a fever that gets worse a few days into the illness instead of improving like it would often with a viral infection.
Viral infections often clear up on their own within a few weeks and antibiotics don't help and with a bacterial infection it may require antibiotics to treat.
You can tell if wheezing is from your lungs or your throat by the sound.
When wheezing is from your throat it will often be a shrill whistle sound or a coarse rattle sound that occurs when the airways are partially blocked.
When wheezing is from your lungs the sound of the wheezing is often a high pitched musical sound which occurs when you exhale and can also happen when inhaling and is caused by narrowed airways and often in the small breathing tubes called bronchial tubes which are deep in the lungs.
Lung wheezing can last for a few hours to as long as a few days or weeks and does not always require medial attention but in some cases you may need to seek medical attention if the wheezing is severe enough.
If the wheezing continues longer than a few days to a week you should see a doctor.
The signs that your wheezing is serious are if you have, chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, the wheezing gets worse or doesn't go away, you have a bluish skin color, the wheezing occurs after choking on food or a small object or the wheezing begins suddenly or soon after eating an allergy causing food, taking medication or being stung by a bee.
You should go to the hospital for wheezing if the wheezing lasts longer than a few weeks or gets worse or you have any unexplained wheezing or wheezing that keeps coming back or is accompanied by difficulty breathing or rapid breathing.
You can clear your lungs and stop wheezing by taking a steamy shower, using a humidifier, sitting in the bathroom with the hot shower running and the door closed and by drinking some water or warm tea.
When wheezing won't stop it can mean you have a lung infection, lung issues, asthma or other conditions such as COPD or heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Most cases of wheezing will eventually go away although some types of wheezing may need medications to stop the wheezing and manage the wheezing.
Wheezing can last for up to 2 to 3 weeks although most cases of wheezing last 7 to 10 days or sometimes a few days depending on the cause of the wheezing.
If you continue to wheeze and cough for more than 2 weeks, especially at night when you lay down or when you are active or you continue to cough for more than 2 weeks and have a bad tasting fluid come up into your mouth you should call your doctor.
The medication that is used for wheezing cough is typically Theophylline and Guafenesin in combination.
However depending on the cause of the wheezing cough other types of medications may be used which include HFA, ProAir Digihaler, Leukotriene Modifiers, Dextromethorphan, Beclometasone, Albuterol, Levalbuterol, Bronchodilator, Ventolin, Salmeterol, Budesonide and Corticosteroids.
The two types of wheezing are expiratory wheezing when you exhale or breathe out and inspiratory wheezing when you breathe in or inhale.
Wheezing sometimes means fluid in the lungs which can lead to shortness of breath, coughing of loose mucus or coughing up foam.
If your wheezing is from fluid in your lungs it can be life threatening and is known as pulmonary edema so you should seek medical treatment.
People with pulmonary edema may experience some or all of the following symptoms which include trouble breathing, or shortness of breath, feelings of anxiety related to breathing difficulties, wheezing or noisy breathing.
Wheezing can indicate and be caused by the common cold, allergies, irritation, dust, sleep apnea, vocal cord dysfunction, smoking, cystic fibrosis, respiratory syncytial virus, lung cancer, Anaphylaxis, GERD, Asthma, Heart Failure, Lung Cancer, Bronchitis, Pneumonia , Covid-19 and COPD.
Wheezing is a sign that you may be having breathing problems.
The sound of wheezing is most obvious when you're breathing out (exhaling).
The sound of wheezing may also be heard when you're breathing in (inhaling).
Wheezing most often comes from the small breathing tubes (bronchial tubes) deep in your lungs.
Any inflammation and narrowing of the airway in any location, from your throat out into your lungs, can result in wheezing.
The most common causes of recurrent wheezing are asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which both cause narrowing and spasms (bronchospasms) in the small airways of your lungs.
Some ways you can stop and get rid of wheezing include.
Moisturizing the air. Use a humidifier, take a steamy shower or sit in the bathroom with the door closed while running a hot shower. ...
Drink plenty of water and other fluids. Warm liquids can relax the airway and loosen up sticky mucus in your throat.
Avoid tobacco smoke.
If your wheezing is caused by asthma, your doctor may recommend some or all of the following to reduce inflammation and open the airways: A fast-acting bronchodilator inhaler – albuterol (Proventil HFA, Ventolin HFA), levalbuterol (Xopenex) – to dilate constricted airways when you have respiratory symptoms.
The main causes of wheezing include.
Asthma, either allergic or exercise-induced.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Bronchitis.
Pneumonia.
Upper respiratory viral illness, such as a cold, the flu or COVID-19.