Chicago, IL, Nov. 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Do the winter months have you stocking up on cough drops? As time-starved adults, we love to grab the nearest over-the-counter cough remedy and hope for the best. But is there a better way? After years of research, chronic cough and throat clearing expert, Brian Rotskoff, MD, offers a confident, "Yes." In fact, he's helped 90 percent of his patients overcome chronic cough.
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Here's what happens: We assume our chronic cough is a leftover cold or some other untreatable winter illness, so we power through and try to suppress our cough symptoms. Before we know it, we've been coughing for weeks and our spouses and coworkers are fed up. Voila, chronic cough!
But as Chicago allergist Dr. Rotskoff explains, "Chronic cough is not a diagnosis, it's a symptom. Persistent coughing that lasts more than a month is caused by some other condition, commonly multiple conditions. Very often that's why coughs last so long; they're misdiagnosed or singularly diagnosed and therefore only partially treated."
Can't stop coughing, you say?
The most common reason for a pestering cough is post-nasal drip. During a cold or sinus infection, post-nasal drainage is like a leaky faucet in the back of your throat. That constant irritation causes temporary inflammation and triggers coughing and throat clearing. But if you're more than a couple weeks past a cold and your cough is still going strong, chances are there's more to it.
"The first things I look for are asthma and acid reflux. Both are very likely, but often unsuspected, cough culprits," explained Dr. Rotskoff, an expert in the complexities of chronic cough. A large percentage of his Clarity Allergy Center patients suffer from compounding conditions; to treat only one would be a futile attempt at cough control.
An untreated cough can become a rather painful cycle as the repeated act of coughing continues to irritate airways. Without giving that tissue a chance to heal, patients can develop a chronic cough from nerve damage to the voice box (larynx).
According to Dr. Rotskoff, a lot can be learned from a chest x-ray. "Patients can save themselves months of suffering and medication-hopping," he said. If you've experience a chronic cough for one month or longer, schedule a thorough cough analysis with Chicago's Brian Rotskoff, MD. You - and those around you - will be glad you did.
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