• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Breathing sounds - abnormal (stridor)

• Overview
• Treatment

Alternative Names:

Stridor

Home Care:

Follow prescribed therapy in treating the underlying cause. See also first-aid measures for choking .

Call your health care provider if:

Call your health care provider if there is any indication of unexplained stridor, especially in a child.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

In emergency situations, vital signs (temperature, pulse, rate of breathing, blood pressure) will be monitored, and the Heimlich maneuver may be necessary. Then the medical history will be obtained, and a physical examination performed. Intubation (insertion of a "breathing tube") may be necessary if there is inability to breathe properly (respiratory failure).

Medical history questions documenting abnormal breathing sounds in detail may include:

• Is the abnormal breathing sound a high-pitched sound?
• Did it begin suddenly?
• Is it possible that the child may have put something in the mouth and gotten it into the windpipe?
• Has the child been ill recently?
• Is the child's neck or face swollen?
• Has the child been coughing or complaining of a sore throat?
• What other symptoms are also present?
• Is there nasal flaring ?
• Is the child using chest muscles to breathe ( intercostal retractions )?
• Does the child have blue lips, blue nailbeds, or bluish color of the skin?

The physical examination will include monitoring the vital signs and listening to the lungs.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:

• Arterial blood gas analysis
• Bronchoscopy (using a scope to look directly at the airway)
• CT scan, thoracic
• Laryngoscopy
• X-ray of the chest or neck

After seeing your health care provider:

You may want to add a diagnosis related to stridor to your personal medical record.

• Review Date: 10/27/2005
• Reviewed By: Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Hospitalist Program, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.