Deep wheezing when breathing out: what to know

Wheezing is a musical or whistling sound made as air moves through narrowed airways. It may occur with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a viral chest infection such as acute bronchitis, or an allergic reaction. In young children, bronchiolitis is another possibility. The sound can be louder during breathing out because smaller airways narrow as pressure changes. A wheeze is a symptom, not a diagnosis, so a clinician may ask about triggers, cough, fever, allergies, smoking and previous breathing episodes.

Sit upright, move away from smoke or a known irritant, and use a prescribed reliever inhaler exactly as your action plan says. Do not use someone else’s inhaler. Arrange medical review for a first episode, repeated episodes, wheezing after a new food or medicine, or symptoms that are not settling. A clinician may listen to your chest, measure oxygen levels and breathing, and decide whether inhaled treatment or further tests are appropriate.

Call emergency services for severe or rapidly worsening breathlessness, inability to speak in full sentences, blue or grey lips, confusion, collapse, or swelling of the lips, tongue or throat. Wheezing with sudden hives, vomiting or faintness can be anaphylaxis. In a child, urgent help is needed for pauses in breathing, marked chest pulling-in, unusual sleepiness or difficulty feeding.

Ask what may be narrowing your airways, whether you need breathing tests, how to use any inhaler, which triggers to avoid, and what changes mean you should seek urgent help.