Cough is a nonspecific reaction to irritation anywhere from the pharynx to the lungs. Cough can be divided into acute self-limiting cough, lasting less than 3 weeks, or chronic persistent cough, which usually lasts for more than 8 weeks. Cough lasting for an intermediate period of 3-8 weeks is called subacute cough. 1  Chronic cough lasting for more than 8 weeks is common in the community.
A wheeze (formally called sibilant rhonchi in medical terminology) is a continuous, coarse, whistling sound produced in the respiratory airways during breathing.For wheezes to occur, some part of the respiratory tree must be narrowed or obstructed, or airflow velocity within the respiratory tree must be heightened.he differential diagnosis of wheezing is wide, and the reason for wheezing in a given patient is determined by considering the characteristics of the wheezes and the historical and clinical findings made by the examining physician.
To determine the cause of your wheezing, your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and what triggers them. For example, if you have no history of lung disease and you always wheeze after eating a certain food or at a certain time of year, the doctor may suspect that you have a food or respiratory allergy.he wheezing is treated just like asthma, but it goes away by itself, usually by age 5 or 6. Most kids who have symptoms like wheezing and shortness... If this is the first time you've been evaluated, your doctor will probably ask you to perform a breathing test (spirometry) and may also order a chest X-ray.