The inflammatory process in the lung tissue is caused by various bacteria, viruses or fungi. Most often, these processes occur against the background of high fever, general weakness and cough. If the temperature lasts more than two days and does not go down well with antipyretic drugs, you must definitely call a doctor. Such symptoms often develop with pneumonia. Wheezing in the lungs, which the doctor listens with a stethoscope, helps to correctly diagnose and prescribe the necessary treatment.
Description of the phenomenon
Sometimes a person himself can feel gurgling when breathing. Often close, putting their heads to their chests, are frightened of the fact that they hear extraneous sounds. And of course, wheezing with pneumonia will always be heard by the doctor when he examines the patient. Why do they appear? Let's remember a little physiology. A stream of air enters the lungs, after which the oxygen in it is picked up by the alveoli and sent to all the cells of our body. If the incoming air meets an obstacle, wheezing occurs. In pneumonia, it can be swelling or mucus-clogged bronchi.
Varieties of wheezing
If you suspect pneumonia, do not self-medicate. This disease can proceed in different ways, and there is a big chance to start it and earn a complication. Wheezing with pneumonia must be evaluated by your doctor. Only a specialist will be able to make the correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment. Moreover, most often, local therapists send such symptoms to the hospital so that the patient is under the supervision of doctors around the clock. Let's see what wheezing is.
What is crepitation
This is the characteristic noise in acute pneumonia. Wheezing in the lungs occurs because alveoli stick together with mucus. These are the faintest noises that are pretty hard to hear without medical devices. Therefore, they say that the sooner the doctor examines the patient, the sooner he will be given the correct diagnosis. Usually, crepitus appears with inflammation of the lung tissue and is characteristic of the onset of the disease. Similar noises can be heard when the disease is nearing completion. Doctors compare this wheezing with a bang of hair rubbed around the ear.
Crepitus is characterized by the appearance of an inspiration. Therefore, the patient must be asked several times to take a deep breath. Noises are usually symmetrical on both sides. The sound is amplified after coughing and does not change when a stethoscope is pressed. If the doctor has heard such noises, he must immediately send the patient to an x-ray to confirm or refute the diagnosis of "pneumonia". This is most important, since delaying treatment leads to complications, sometimes incompatible with life.
Wet wheezing
Pneumonia is a formidable disease that occurs in each patient in their own way. Therefore, the doctor must be able to conduct an accurate diagnosis based on what he sees and hears. This type of wheezing in the lungs is divided into several types, so young specialists sometimes get confused in making a diagnosis. Depending on the size of the bronchi, wheezing can be finely bubbly, medium-bubbly, and large-bubbly.
Let's explain what is meant. Exudate accumulates in these vesicles. Air passes through the mucus, and gurgling occurs. It can be heard on exhalation and on inhalation. Depending on the size of these vesicles, one can talk about the severity of pneumonia. The larger they are, the more neglected and severe the form of the disease in the patient. It is not difficult to hear such wheezing, it is enough just to approach the patient.
Dry wheezing
Each therapist should be well aware which wheezing in pneumonia speaks of the development of the pathological process, and which speaks of its completion. This allows you to adjust the therapeutic process at its various stages. Dry rales are most often heard in the early stages of the disease. This suggests that there is no fluid in the bronchi. Swelling is weak, fluid has not yet accumulated or is present in a small volume.
Dry rales will be heard when you exhale and inhale. The sound resembles rustling, and sometimes whistling. This indicates an obstruction of the bronchi. Oxygen starvation may develop. In this case, it is important to quickly remove the swelling and restore the normal functioning of this body.
Pleural friction
This pathology is usually associated with pneumonia. Sound occurs in both phases of breathing if the pleura leaves touch each other when shifted. Often in this case, the therapist will send the patient to the TB doctor so that he additionally listens to him and makes his conclusion. Distinctive features of pleural noise are:
- One or two-way process over the entire surface of the lung.
- Noise is determined by inspiration and expiration.
- He is heard when simulating breathing. To do this, a person closes his mouth and nose and repeats the usual movements without access to oxygen.
- The sound is amplified while the stethoscope membrane is pressing against the surface of the chest.
- A person feels chest pain on the affected side.
Most often, pleural friction tells us that there is a complicated course of lobar pneumonia.
Pneumonia in children
It does not always proceed as obvious as in adults. Sometimes doctors mistakenly diagnose bronchitis. Or attribute the symptoms to a typical cold. Meanwhile, a late diagnosis threatens with serious complications. Children are not sent for x-rays, which complicates the diagnosis. Wheezing with pneumonia in a child occurs quite often. However, this helps to quickly make the correct diagnosis. Worse when inflammation occurs in a latent form.
In parallel with wheezing, a strong cough develops. You can observe rapid breathing, hoarseness, cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle, fever. Intoxication of the body can manifest itself in the form of vomiting, loss of consciousness, or even seizures. The younger the child, the sooner medical attention should be provided. A gentle body is not able to resist the development of the inflammatory process for a long time, intoxication, high fever, lack of oxygen, which can develop against the background of this disease, are detrimental to it.
Symptomatic pneumonia
Unfortunately, it happens. Pneumonia without wheezing, without temperature, and even without pathological changes in the blood test. This form is called hidden, and it is very dangerous. Often this condition ends in death, because too much time passes before the diagnosis is made.
The asymptomatic form proceeds almost imperceptibly. The patient may not understand what is happening to him. An ailment is usually attributed to a mild cold or banal overwork. Consultation with a therapist may not give anything, because when listening to a doctor the doctor will not hear anything suspicious. But it should alert you to frequent breathing. The patient's lungs can not cope with the load, so you have to breathe more often. Exercise leads to sweating and weakness. Pain behind the sternum may be observed. All this should be a signal for an immediate x-ray examination. Only in the picture can you see developing pneumonia.
Establishing diagnosis
By the noise in the lungs, the doctor can judge the severity of the disease and the likelihood of complications. The therapeutic regimen depends on this. Wheezing may remain after recovery. This is the so-called residual phenomenon, which may bother for quite some time. Moreover, this can be either a variant of the norm or a signal that a complication occurs. Wheezing after pneumonia - this is an occasion to see a doctor again and undergo an additional examination.
Complications
Very often this formidable disease does not pass without a trace. This is especially true for patients with a weak immune system. That is, these are children and the elderly. Therefore, if pneumonia is suspected, they must be taken to a hospital. There are two types of complications: pulmonary and non-pulmonary. The first include:
- Commissures. They form during pleurisy.
- Substitution of pulmonary fibrous tissue. This phenomenon is focal in shape and is quite common.
- Abscess. At the site of inflammation of the lung tissue, pus appears.
- Gangrene. Here, inflammation with decay already affects a significant part of the lung.
- Empyema of pleural tissue - the inflammatory process goes into the leaves of the pleura, where there is an accumulation of pus.
Each of these complications is the result of late treatment or incompetence of the attending physician. Therefore, if treatment does not give results, it is better to consult another specialist, hear the opinion of another doctor and draw conclusions based on this.
Extrapulmonary include complications that led to cardiac activity. Blood stasis develops, which leads to a lack of oxygen and a change in the rhythm of the heart. Wet noises are heard.
Diagnosis and treatment
Inflammation in the lungs can only be treated by a doctor. The specialist will decide whether it is possible to carry out treatment at home, or if you want to place the patient in a hospital. The diagnosis is made on the basis of the patient’s complaints of fever and cough, a doctor’s examination, an X-ray examination and a general blood test.
If the analysis is confirmed, then the patient is prescribed an antibiotic and cough suppressants, antipyretic drugs. With stagnation of mucus, heavy drinking is recommended. If wheezing in the lungs after pneumonia is accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms, then you need to consult a doctor as soon as possible to determine a possible complication. But if residual wheezing is not heard at a distance and is not accompanied by coughing and fever, then they are physiological and do not require additional treatment. They usually go away in the next few weeks.