Enter your Everyday Health log-in here:

E-Mail Address:
Forgot Your Password?

Wheezing 5-Month-Old

My 5-month-old son has a wheezing sound when he eats or just lies down to play. It sounds like a goose. What can this be and how do I treat it?

A common complaint of parents is noisy breathing. Often parents describe it as wheezing, but wheezing is something rather specific and there are lots of different causes of noisy breathing. Wheezing is a sound that is usually made when a person exhales air — it has a classic sound when heard with a stethoscope. It is common with viral infections in young children and in asthma. However, it is often only possible to hear the wheezing with a stethoscope. Much more common are what we call "transmitted breath sounds," which occurs when a child is congested. The congestion can be heard and even felt sometimes in the lungs; however if you listen closely with a stethoscope you will realize the problem is not in the lungs but just transmitted noise from the nose.

The other type of "noisy breathing" is called stridor. This is a noise that occurs with inhalation of air. It can occur when a child has a viral infection like croup, or it can be caused by anything that narrows the upper airways in a child. A common cause in a young child is something called tracheolaryngomalacia. When a child has this parents will notice that the stridor occurs almost all the time and is worse when a child is lying on his back and improves when lying on the belly. It is something most children outgrow as the rings of cartilage that keep the airway open become more firm with age.

I recommend that you try to record the sound your child makes when breathing. Bring in the recording to your son's pediatrician. If your child is having difficulty breathing, you should see a doctor right away.

Learn more in the Everyday Health Kids' Health Center.

Last Updated: 04/13/2009