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Stridor - what is it?
The noisy whistling sound that occurs in the lungs as a result of turbulence (bubbling) of air during breathing is called "stridor". Stridor is a symptom of various diseases associated with obstruction of the upper airways (larynx, trachea, upper bronchi).
Most often, stridor is observed with a pharyngeal abscess, croup, tracheitis, tracheobronchitis, epiglottitis, tumors of the trachea, larynx or esophagus. Edema of the mucous membrane of the trachea or larynx of allergic, infectious or toxic origin can lead to the development of stridor.
Stridor can be caused by:
- Traumatic factors (foreign body in the larynx or esophagus, laryngeal stenosis due to its intubation);
- Anomaly of the tissue of the supporting cartilage of the trachea (their softening - tracheomalacia) causes the trachea to collapse and leads to a stridor;
- Seizures, paralysis, edema.
Stridor signs:
- Wheezing breath,
- Feeling out of breath,
- Difficulty breathing,
- Violation of the rhythm of breathing (frequency and depth),
- Cyanosis of facial tissues (blue lips, nose, cheeks).
Treatment of stridor involves identifying the localization of the airway obstruction. By sound (high or low stridor), the area of narrowing of the upper respiratory tract is determined. A high sound means that the area of the vocal folds is narrowed, a low sound means that the area above the vocal folds is narrowed. When treating stridor, the cause of its occurrence (inflammation, edema, foreign body) is eliminated. If necessary (in difficult cases), tracheal intubation and tracheostomy are performed.
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