When a wheeze is not asthma

The most common disease presenting with wheeze is asthma and it would be most unwise not to consider this condition in patients suffering this symptom. The intensive educational drive conducted by the National Asthma Campaign has significantly increased public and professional awareness of asthma and it is being diagnosed much more readily. However, many other conditions can cause wheeze and the adage "all that wheezes is not asthma" attributed to Chevallier Jackson finds support in the following cases drawn from my own practice.