What Could be Causing Wheezing?

What Causes Wheezing?

Wheezing can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose wheezing, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "wheezing" as a symptom. Here are three possibilities:

Asthma
Carcinoid Cancer
Acute Bronchitis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

facial flushing

recurrent bronchitis

shortness of breath when at rest

past and future vaccination

somewhat elevated basophil count

chronic productive cough

very low tryptophan levels

severe abdominal pain

blue/bluish fingernails

moderate heart murmur

frequent sleepwalking

frequent rapid, shallow breathing

... and more than 10 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of wheezing:

Cause	Probability	Status
Acute Bronchitis	90%	Confirm
Carcinoid Cancer	18%	Unlikely
Asthma	5%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate having breathing problems, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Do you wheeze? If you are using respiratory medication (e.g. for asthma), tell us if you wheeze when you are not using it.

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No, not at all
→ Only after exercise
→ Occasionally / slightly
→ Much of the time / severely

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate absence of wheezing, wheezing after exercise only or wheezing, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Acute Bronchitis

Asthma

Carcinoid Cancer

Patients with Carcinoid Syndrome sometimes have wheezing or asthma-like symptoms, making breathing difficult.

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™