“My baby sounds like he is wheezing. Should I be worried?”
Since birth, my newborn has been making this wheezing sound while he's sleeping. Me and my husband are a little worried and aren't sure what we should do. Is this a serious symptom of an infection?
8 Answers
Usually this is not a problem. It is usually mucus in the nose or a little swelling inside the nose. If he has trouble sucking or his color looks dusky he would need evaluation.
A sound that is perceived to be a wheeze - especially a consistent one whether awake or sleeping should be heard via stethoscope by the pediatrician. There is a benign tracheal abnormality that causes a stridor that is outgrown which is identifiable on exam. Infections certainly can cause wheeze and of course that possibility mandates a visit to your pediatrician.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
From the description it is unclear if the baby is wheezing or has inspiratory stridor. Stridor in infants is most frequently associated with laryngomalacia. Laryngomalacia is a benign condition of decrease stiffness of the larynx, which leads to a degree of upper airway collapse which creates increase airway resistance causing high pitched noise during inspiration. The noise can be position dependent and more prominent with colds, crying and activity.
Wheezing can be associated with asthma and is usually expiratory. Wheezing is frequently not audible and only heard by listening to the chest with a stethoscope.
Wheezing can be associated with asthma and is usually expiratory. Wheezing is frequently not audible and only heard by listening to the chest with a stethoscope.
Wheezing occurs for several different reasons in a baby. The best choice is to see your doctor for an evaluation. For more helpful tips, tune in to Two "Sense" Tuesdays on Facebook 1:00PM on at DoctorJarret. Thank you.
Jarret Patton, MD, FAAP
Jarret Patton, MD, FAAP
He may have Tracheomalacia, which means he has soft cartilage in his windpipe (trachea}. This gets better as babies get around 1 year old. If he seems short of breath, he should be seen by a doctor regularly.
Usually when a parent hears wheezing, it is coming from the nose and not the lungs. Depending upon the age and symptomatology, the baby should be evaluated by a pediatrician. This is the cold and flu season, a lot of patients have bronchiolitis.
You need to have your pediatrician listen to the baby. Some babies make noise when they breath "in" which is called stridor and can be related to a soft larynx/windpipe and is something they outgrow, but this should be checked by your doctor. If you take a little video of the baby when he is sleeping and making this noise, this will make it easier to diagnose the issue
If there is no respiratory distress like chest retraction or tucking in, there is no cause to worry because enlarged adenoids and enlarged tonsils can make noises while child is sleeping.
