NYC COUGH SPECIALIST:
Dr. Gary Stadtmauer
Refractory chronic cough (RCC) is defined as a cough lasting longer than 8 weeks but you don’t need to wait that long to seek help. Whether you have been coughing for a few weeks or many years, Dr. Stadtmauer’s unified approach may finally help relieve your chronic cough.
- Asthma
- Post-nasal drip (allergy or sinusitis)
- Acid Reflux
Testing for these conditions is seldom available at one office which results in a trial and error approach and/or multiple doctors visits. Also, chronic cough may be the main but is almost never the only symptom. There might also be:
- Wheeze, chest tightness or shortness of breath (asthma?)
- Stuffy nose, itching and sneezing (allergy?)
- Belching, throat clearing, heartburn (reflux?)
- Headaches, discolored nasal mucous (sinusitis?)
Overlapping Symptoms
Frequently there are overlapping symptoms and it’s not unusual for someone with chronic cough to have 2 problems (i.e.-asthma and sinusitis) and sometimes even 3. The good news is in this day and age, in our part of the world, chronic cough is usually not contagious. The bad news is that the most people don’t think that way. It is often the social consequences of chronic cough that are most troubling.
WHAT TO EXPECT: We will sit down and talk in detail about your symptoms first. Only after that will we proceed to examination and in-office testing (all at the first visit). If initial investigations are negative, additional ones may be ordered. That is where clinical judgement come in. Less common causes of chronic cough include paradoxical vocal fold motion, neurogenic cough and laryngeal hypersensitivity. Rarer causes include a foreign body (piece of food) lodged in a small part of the airway and even an occasional hair in the ear may trigger the cough reflex. See Cough FAQ.
Dr. Stadtmauer’s qualifications:
- Former Chair of the Cough Committee, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
- Lecturer at national meetings and author of articles on chronic cough