Is My Dog Having an Asthma Attack?

I get this question a lot, and yesterday as I was discussing this "condition" with an owner, I thought it would make a very good blog post as well as a good thing to put on our facebook page.  There are hundreds of videos of it on YouTube, so we'll be posting one here and on facebook to help owners recognize what is happening to their doggies and not panic when they see it!

It's the incredible Reverse Sneeze!!

What the heck is it?  Well, most people think it's an asthma attack because it appears as though the dog cannot breathe when it is happening.  Another concern owners have is simply that something has affected their dog and for whatever reason, they are having episodes of severe respiratory distress and are dying.  They almost always come to my office saying, "My dog is having difficulty breathing and he's dying!"  or "My dog keeps having asthma attacks!"   

These episodes are followed by a warp speed drive in to see us where we generally assess a happy dog wagging its tail and giving us the look of,  "What's all the excitement about?”

In fact, the first time my husband saw our own dog do it, he said, "Now I know why our clients get so scared when they see this happening!"

Reverse sneezing sounds similar to a honking noise and is a condition that usually does not need any treatment. It is called reverse sneezing because it sounds a bit like a dog “inhaling sneezes” or “snorting backwards.” These episodes are short-lived and usually resolved by the time of presentation, leaving us veterinarians to (embarrassingly) try to mimic the noise in the exam room. 

Follow this link for a video that demonstrates what a typical reverse sneezing episode appears like. 

The most common cause of reverse sneezing is an irritation of the soft palate and throat that results in a spasm. The dog’s neck will “stretch outward” and the chest will expand during the spasm as it tries harder to inhale. The trachea narrows during this time, and it’s hard to get the normal amount of air into the lungs.  All of these actions together result in the disturbing display.

What are some other causes?

Anything that irritates the throat can cause this spasm, and subsequent reverse sneezing, including:

• excitement
• eating or drinking
• exercise intolerance
• pulling on a leash
• mites
• foreign bodies caught in the throat
• perfumes and environmental irritants such as household chemicals
• viruses
• pollen, allergies and post-nasal drip

Further evaluation should be pursued if reverse sneezing becomes a frequent occurrence, as there may be a treatable underlying cause of the episodes, such as mites or allergies. In many cases, however, the cause cannot be identified.

What can I do?

Reverse sneezing itself rarely requires treatment. When the sneezing stops, the spasm is over. If the episode continues beyond a few seconds, sometimes massaging your dog’s throat can help stop the spasm. Also, it is sometimes effective to cover the nostrils for quick moment, which makes the dog swallow and helps to “clear out the irritation.”

Some dogs have these episodes their entire lives while some dogs develop the condition only as they age. In most dogs, however, the spasm is an occasional and temporary problem that goes away on its own, needing no treatment and leaving the dog with no after-effects.