Ask Dr Claire
My dog was diagnosed by two vets one said he had a reverse sneeze. The other said he had a collapsed trachea.
Without seeing the episode it’s very hard to get an understanding of what is happening here. If you can record the episode on your phone that would be really helpful, for either an online consult, or to show your bricks and mortar vet at revisit.
What we call a “reverse sneeze” is characterised by raid inspirations or snorting through the nose. It’s the body’s attempt to rid of something. Any irritation of the nose, back of the mouth and sinus can result in a reverse sneeze.
It should not last longer than a few minutes. If the problem is persists or is frequent, treatment is directed at the underlying cause.
Possible causes include:
- Allergies
- Irritants
- Foreign body
- Unknown
Tracheal collapse is a common cause of chronic coughing in dogs. A cough on the palpation of the trachea is a possible sign of tracheal collapse, but it can be due to many other problems that cause a dog to cough as well. It does not localise the origin of the cough to the trachea. Tracheal collapse makes a very different sound to reverse sneeze.
If you’d like to chat in person, you can get a vet on a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail now.
We’re here to help!
Chat soon,
Dr Claire