by Kesshia Peyton
Published: Mon, February 02, 2009 - 9:09 am CST
Last Updated: Mon, February 02, 2009 - 9:15 am CST
When a child is so sick that their breathing sounds like a wheeze, parents are panicked. But is it that wheezy sound a symptom of the cold or is it asthma? There are things parents can do to help get the right diagnosis. Doctor Howard Eigen says wheezing is a common symptom of asthma....but actual wheezing is a chest sound made on exhale, not the inhale.
"Classical wheezing is a whistling sound and it comes because the airways are narrowed when the child breathes out," said Pediatric Pulmonologist Dr. Howard Eigen.
If you hear a wheezy noise when your child inhales, that's called Stridor and isn't asthma.
"The airway's obstructed from here up, from the neck up, whereas in true wheezing, the obstruction is from the neck down, truly made in the chest," said Dr. Eigen.
Doctors stress that parents should trust their gut if they think their child's illnesses are more than passing colds.
They say asthma can be diagnosed in babies as young as 6 to 12 weeks, and should be treated to keep the lungs healthy and injury-free.
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