What Causes Chest Congestion And Wheezing At Night?

Posted on Tue, 1 Apr 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 1 Apr 2014 Answered on

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been having a feeling of chest congestion / wheezing / dry coughs every night. I have been advised by an ENT that this could be possibly due to allergies. Sometimes I also get red rashes / with a tendency to itch on the body. A cetrizine helps to pacify the same, temporarily. Pls advise.

Answered by Dr. Satyadeo Choubey (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: This may be asthma Detailed Answer: I think you may have asthma as 50-80 % of allergic rhinitis patients may have concomitant asthma. You must get a chest xray, Total IgE, Blood eosinophil and a simple breathing test called spirometry with reversibility testing done... You may get a relief of the chest symptoms by a simpllle inhaler consisiting of steroids and bronchodilator like formoterol and fluticasone combination twice a day....Do continue the cetrizine... Best wishes

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar