26 FEBRUARY 2021 Wheezing is a common occurrence that most of us will have experienced, whether temporarily through something like hayfever or a cold, or more long-term through a condition such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But scientists don't understand much about why it happens.
New research has used a combination of modelling and high-resolution video to try and shed some light on the mechanisms of wheezing, finding that there's a "violent" process that can cause our lung pipes to make these raspy sounds. With this new information available, the team is hoping that wheezing might be better understood and diagnosed in the future.