2/20/2023 0 Comments Rales lung soundsLet’s talk about Rales first Rales (Vietnamese for “ran”) are sounds in the lungs that come from the movement of fluid or secretions in the airways or from the airways through narrow passages. This makes many medical students feel confused when studying Vietnamese symptom books and referring to English books. Instead, they use terms like breath sounds, wheezes and crackles. It typically occurs as a result of a collapsed lung, but can also indicate COPD, pneumonia and cystic fibrosis.If you read the symptom books in English, you will find that most authors do not use the term “rale” to describe the clinical signs on lung examination. This sound is scratchy and crunchy and occurs in time with the heartbeat. Mediastinal CrunchĪlso known as Hamman’s sign, this indicates that air is trapped in the air space between the lungs, called the mediastinum. It most often occurs when pleurisy or pneumonia develop, both of which frequently occur in people who have COPD. It is very distinctive and makes a scratchy sound. This occurs when the outer membranes of the chest cavity and the outer surface of the lungs, called the pleura, rub together. A whooping cough is highly contagious and can occur simultaneously with COPD. This is distinctive of pertussis, or whooping cough. Whooping is a distinctive lung sound where a high-pitched gasp occurs after a bout of coughing. Whooping is a lung sound typically not heard with COPD. It generally is an indication that the airways have thickened with mucus and of bronchitis or COPD. Rhonchi is similar to wheezing but is lower pitched and sounds similar to snoring. Laryngomalacia (a condition that occurs in babies when the vocal cords soften).This is not necessarily a sign of COPD, but it can occur if something blocks the airway. This is a harsh squeaking noise that occurs with every breath, and the pitch may be high or low. Stridor can be a life-threatening emergency because it can indicate that something is blocking the airways. Either way, crackles indicate that there is likely fluid in the lungs. You may hear crackles described as “fine," meaning that they are shorter and higher in pitch, or “coarse” (lower in pitch). Crackling is often described as short rattling or clicking sounds, or even as short explosive sounds. Crackling Lung Sounds or Rales Lung SoundsĬrackling/rales is typically heard on inhalation, but it can also be heard on exhalation as well. An obstruction of the voice box or windpipe.Ģ.Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).However, there are many other causes of wheezing, and these may include: The most common cause of wheezing is asthma or COPD. Typically, COPD occurs when there is something that is causing your airways to narrow, meaning that air is not flowing freely. Wheezing is a high-pitched sound that can be heard on inhalation or exhalation. Below are a few of the types of lung sounds that are heard in COPD patients. Certain sounds occur with more frequency than others. The alveoli have become damaged or destroyed.Ĭertain lung sounds may occur when you have COPD.Airways and alveoli are no longer elastic.These alveoli are also very stretchy and elastic – as a healthy person breathes in and out, these alveoli stretch and deflate.Ī person with COPD has a compromised airway. The alveoli are high vascularized with capillaries – this makes it so that air exchange can occur. Inside the bronchial tubes, tiny airways branch off, called bronchioles, and the air continues to travel into these tiny airways.Īt the end of the bronchioles, tiny air sacs are situated. This may help you understand the description of the lung sounds a bit better.Ī healthy individual should be able to take a breath and have it travel down the windpipe (trachea) and into the airways (bronchial tubes). It may help to understand what is happening in the body when you have COPD. However, this likelihood increases after the age of 65. Women are more likely to suffer from COPD than men – 37% more likely. Worldwide, it is expected that there are approximately 65 million diagnosed sufferers of moderate to severe COPD, and that number is only expected to climb over the next 50 years. COPD rates are highest in the mid west and the southeast, with the lowest number of sufferers in Utah. It also affects millions – yes millions – of Americans who do not even know that they have it. COPD is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., and it affects 16 million Americans.
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