Rales. Small clicking, bubbling, or rattling sounds in the lungs. They are heard when a person breathes in (inhales). They are believed to occur when air opens closed air spaces. Rales can be further described as moist, dry, fine, and course.
Rhonchi, in contrast to wheezes, are described as low-pitched clunky or rattling sounds, though they sometimes resemble snoring. They often clear with coughing and are usually caused by an obstruction or build-up of mucus in the large airways.
Rhonchi sounds have a continuous snoring, gurgling, or rattle-like quality. Rhonchi occur in the bronchi as air moves through tracheal-bronchial passages coated with mucus or respiratory secretions. This is often heard in pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or cystic fibrosis. Rhonchi usually clear after coughing.
A cough that's caused by bronchitis is often accompanied by mucus in your chest (we'll get to that next), which may or may not come up when you cough (when it does, it's called a “productive” cough). That can cause a sensation of rattling deep in your chest when you breathe in or cough.
This typically lasts no more than a few hours, but each patient is different and it can continue for as long as 24-48 hours. While the sound is difficult for family members to hear, it does not cause the patient pain or distress.
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus (purulent material), causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause pneumonia.
The condition also causes some distinct sounds ranging from wheezing to cracking when you breathe, which isn't surprising since COPD is an umbrella term for a group of lung diseases (including chronic bronchitis and emphysema) that obstruct the lung's airways and make breathing difficult.
Heart Failure
Crackles will be detected higher in the chest with worsening severity of HF. Crackles may be absent in patients with chronic HF even in the setting of elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Also, crackles may be difficult to hear in patients with emphysema or other coexisting pulmonary diseases.
Coughing or deep inspiration may change the quality of coarse crackles, such as those associated with underlying alveolar or airway disease, but the crackles rarely disappear entirely. Expiratory crackles are much less frequent than inspiratory crackles and are often seen in obstructive lung disease.
Crackles occur as a result of small airways suddenly snapping open. They may indicate that a person's lungs have fluid inside them or are not inflating correctly. Causes of crackling include: pneumonia.
Rhonchi. These low-pitched wheezing sounds sound like snoring and usually happen when you breathe out. They can be a sign that your bronchial tubes (the tubes that connect your trachea to your lungs) are thickening because of mucus. Rhonchi sounds can be a sign of bronchitis or COPD.
Pneumonia has four distinct stages of infection: Congestion, red hepatization, gray hepatization, and resolution.
Common symptoms of pneumonia include: a cough – which may be dry, or produce thick yellow, green, brown or blood-stained mucus (phlegm) difficulty breathing – your breathing may be rapid and shallow, and you may feel breathless, even when resting. rapid heartbeat.
Typically wheezing is found in asthma and emphysema. Patients who wheeze can be so loud you can hear it standing next to them. Crackles, on the other hand, are only heard by a stethoscope and are a sign of too much fluid in the lung. Pulmonary edema is a common example, often a byproduct of heart failure.
A minor pleural effusion often goes away on its own. Doctors may need to treat the condition that is causing the pleural effusion. For example, you may get medicines to treat pneumonia or congestive heart failure. When the condition is treated, the effusion usually goes away.
Acute bronchitis usually gets better on its own—without antibiotics. Antibiotics won't help you get better if you have acute bronchitis.
The main symptom of bronchitis is a hacking cough. It is likely that your cough will bring up thick yellow-grey mucus (phlegm), although this does not always happen. Other symptoms of bronchitis are similar to those of other infections, such as the common cold or sinusitis, and may include: sore throat.