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NYC COUGH SPECIALIST:
Dr. Gary Stadtmauer

Perhaps you have been coughing for a few weeks or, it could be many years.  If you’re reading this, you have had enought of it.  I hope you will give me the opportunity to help you.  I have helped many chronic cough patients over the years.  With over 2 decades of experience treating these patients, speaking at conferences and attending seminars, I have the experience that you need and most of all, the patience to hear you out. 

If you are earlier on in your journey to identify and treat the cause of your cough, I can save you time and expense.  Read any trustworthy health website and you will see that everyone agrees on the most common causes of chronic cough (in nonsmokers with healthy immune systems).

  • 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:  Chances are that the longer you have had the cough, the more specialists you have seen.  You may already have been evaluated or treated for allergies, asthma, acid reflux.  I don’t need to repeat all of your testing but odds are we will do some, but not before we discuss your cough and medical history in detail.  Only after that will we proceed to examination and in-office testing.  If initial investigations are negative, additional ones may be ordered.

Refractory chronic cough (RCC) is now recognized as a distinct entity and most cases are due to a faulty “cough sensor.”  The condition goes by many names including cough reflex hypersensitivity, neurogenic cough, the “hypersensitive larynx,”  cough reflex hypersensitivity, postnasal drip syndrome and the list goes on. RCC patients have a tickle in the throat and an urge to cough.  The cough may be a single voluntary cough or there may be coughing fits.   It often does not take much to trigger a coughing fit.  It could be an odor, change in temperature, humidity, laughter, speaking, eating, change in body position.  It is usually much worse with a cold.  Medications can help as can behavioral approaches.

 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