Breathing exercises for wheezing

Wheezing is a musical or whistling sound made when air moves through narrowed airways. Asthma presents with wheezing for many people, while acute bronchitis, COPD, allergic rhinitis, or bronchiolitis may also be involved. Wheezing after exposure to a food, sting, or medicine can occur with anaphylaxis. The sound alone cannot show which cause is present.

Sit upright and keep your shoulders relaxed. Take a gentle breath in through your nose, then breathe out slowly through pursed lips. Avoid forcing repeated deep breaths, smoke, dust, and the activity that triggered symptoms. If you have a prescribed reliever inhaler, use it according to your action plan. A nebuliser treatment is used only when clinically advised, not as a substitute for assessment.

Seek emergency help if wheezing comes with severe breathlessness, swelling of the lips or tongue, blue or grey skin, faintness, confusion, or trouble speaking. Sudden symptoms after an allergen may be anaphylaxis. Get medical assessment for a first episode, repeated episodes, fever, chest pain, or wheezing that does not settle with your prescribed plan.

Ask what is narrowing your airways, how to use your inhaler with correct technique, and whether you need testing. Ask for a written action plan that explains what to do if wheezing returns.