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 persists for more than two days and is poorly controlled with antipyretics, you must definitely call a doctor. Such symptoms often develop with pneumonia. Wheezing in the lungs, which the doctor listens to 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, relatives, putting their heads to their chests, are frightened by 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 think a little about physiology. A stream of air enters the lungs, after which the oxygen present in it is snapped up by the alveoli and sentto every cell in our body. If the incoming air meets an obstacle in the way, wheezing occurs. With pneumonia, it may be swelling or bronchial tubes clogged with mucus.
Varieties of wheezing
If you suspect pneumonia, do not self-medicate. This disease can proceed in different ways, and there is a great chance to start it and earn a complication. Wheezing with pneumonia must be assessed by the attending physician. Only a specialist will be able to make the correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment. Moreover, most often district therapists are sent with such symptoms to a hospital so that the patient is under the supervision of doctors around the clock. Let's look at wheezing.
What is crepitus
This is the name of the characteristic noise in acute pneumonia. Wheezing in the lungs appears because the alveoli filled with mucus stick together. These are the weakest noises that are quite difficult to hear without medical devices. Therefore, they say that the sooner the patient is examined by a doctor, the sooner he will be diagnosed correctly. 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 to the crackling of hair being rubbed near the ear.
Crepitus is characterized by the appearance on inspiration. Therefore, the patient must be asked to take a deep breath several times. Noises are usually symmetrical on both sides. The sound increases after coughing and does not change with pressurestethoscope. If the doctor heard such noises, he should immediately send the patient for an x-ray to confirm or refute the diagnosis of pneumonia. This is the most important, because delaying treatment leads to complications, sometimes life-threatening.
Moist rales
Pneumonia is a formidable disease that occurs in each patient in his own way. Therefore, the doctor must be able to make an accurate diagnosis based on what he sees and hears. This type of wheezing in the lungs is divided into several more types, so young professionals are sometimes confused in making a diagnosis. Depending on the size of the bronchi, rales are finely bubbling, medium bubbling and large bubbling.
Let's clarify what we mean. 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 bubbles, one can also talk about the severity of pneumonia. The larger they are, the more advanced and severe the disease in the patient. It is not difficult to hear such wheezing, just approach the patient.
Dry wheezing
Every therapist should know well which wheezing in pneumonia indicates the development of the pathological process, and which - about its completion. This allows you to adjust the therapeutic process at its different stages. Dry wheezing is 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 smallvolume.
Dry wheezing will be heard during exhalation and inhalation. The sound resembles a rustling, and sometimes a whistle. This indicates 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 organ.
Friction of the pleura
This pathology is usually concomitant with pneumonia. Sound occurs in both phases of respiration if the pleura sheets touch each other during displacement. Often in this case, the therapist will send the patient to a phthisiatrician so that he additionally listens to him and makes his conclusion. The hallmarks of a pleural murmur are:
- One- or two-sided process over the entire surface of the lung.
- Noise is determined on inhalation and exhalation.
- It is also heard when breathing is imitated. To do this, a person closes his mouth and nose and repeats the usual movements without oxygen.
- The sound is amplified when the membrane of the stethoscope is pressed against the surface of the chest.
- The person feels chest pain on the affected side.
Most often, pleural friction tells us that there is a complicated course of lobar pneumonia.
Inflammation of the lungs in children
It is not always as obvious as in adults. Sometimes doctors misdiagnose bronchitis. Or write off the symptoms for a typical cold. Meanwhile, late diagnosis threatens with serious complications. Children are not sent for x-rays, which complicatesdiagnosis. Wheezing with pneumonia in a child occurs quite often. However, it helps to quickly make the correct diagnosis. Worse when the inflammation is latent.
In parallel with wheezing, a strong cough develops. You can observe rapid breathing, hoarseness of voice, cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle, fever. Intoxication of the body can manifest itself in the form of vomiting, loss of consciousness, or even convulsions. The younger the child, the sooner medical attention should be provided. A delicate body is not able to resist the development of the inflammatory process for a long time, intoxication, high temperature, lack of oxygen, which can develop against the background of this disease, are fatal for it.
Pneumonia without symptoms
Unfortunately, it happens. Pneumonia without wheezing, without fever, 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. The malaise is usually attributed to a mild cold or banal overwork. A consultation with a therapist may not give anything, because when listening, the doctor will not hear anything suspicious. But frequent breathing should alert. The lungs of the patient cannot cope with the load, so they have to breathe more often. Physical exerciselead to sweating and weakness. There may be chest pain. All this should be a signal for an immediate x-ray examination. Only in the picture you can see the developing pneumonia.
Diagnosis
The doctor can judge the severity of the disease and the likelihood of complications by the noise in the lungs. The therapeutic regimen also depends on this. Wheezing may remain after recovery. This is the so-called residual phenomenon, which can disturb for quite a long time. Moreover, this can be both a variant of the norm and a signal that there is a complication. Wheezing after pneumonia is a reason to go back to the doctor and undergo an additional examination.
Complications
Very often this formidable disease does not go unnoticed. This is especially true for patients with a weak immune system. That is, children and the elderly. Therefore, if pneumonia is suspected, they must be taken to the hospital. There are two types of complications: pulmonary and non-pulmonary. The first include:
- Spikes. They form during pleurisy.
- Replacing lung tissue with fibrous tissue. This phenomenon has a focal form and is quite common.
- Abscess. Pus appears at the site of inflammation of the lung tissue.
- Gangrene. Here, already inflammation with decay affects a significant part of the lung.
- Empyema of pleural tissue - the inflammatory process passes into the leaves of the pleura, where there is an accumulation of pus.
Each of these complications is the result of late referral or caregiver incompetencedoctor. Therefore, if the 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 lead to cardiac activity. Blood stasis develops, which leads to a lack of oxygen and a change in the rhythm of the heart. Damp noises are heard.
Diagnosis and treatment
Inflammation in the lungs can only be treated by a doctor. The specialist himself will decide whether it is possible to carry out treatment at home, or whether it is required to place the patient in a hospital. The diagnosis is made on the basis of the patient's complaints of high fever and cough, a doctor's examination, an X-ray examination and a complete blood count.
If the analysis is confirmed, the patient is prescribed an antibiotic and cough medicines, antipyretics. With stagnation of mucus, drinking plenty of fluids is recommended. If wheezing in the lungs after pneumonia is accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms, then you need to see 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 cough and fever, then they are physiological and do not require additional treatment. They usually pass within the next few weeks.
