Patients with wheezing may experience more profound symptoms in the cooler seasons. According to a Medscape article, controlling wheezing and understanding underlying causes are key, and in-depth discussions with patients can yield important information—beginning with how to explain to patients what wheezing is, what it means, and what to do about it.
The whistle sound is created by turbulent airflow within the airways and is a physical exam finding that indicates a possible underlying pathology. This occurs when the airways are narrowed or partially blocked.
“Stating that wheezing is a noise created by turbulent airflow may not be well understood by some patients, so using a real-life, common example is likely to be more effective in explaining what wheezing is to patients,” says Brittany Duchene, M.D., a pulmonary and critical care physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center and an assistant professor at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine.
For example, Dr. Duchene suggests this messaging for patients: “Wheezing is a whistling noise that comes from your lungs when your windpipes are narrowed or there is something blocking them. If you try to breathe out through a wide-open mouth, the sounds the air makes is quiet. Now try breathing out when your lips are pursed like you are drinking out of a straw: the noise the air makes now is higher in pitch and louder.”