When the cough won’t stop
About 12 percent of all Germans suffer from a mysterious permanent cough, which apparently cannot be traced back to any cause.
But not every chronic cough is a disease of the respiratory tract.
Thus the complex diagnostics often remains inconclusive, because lungs and bronchial tubes show no abnormalities.
ENT physician Jamie Koufman is a specialist in laryngeal disorders and has been treating patients with chronic cough for decades.
This goes – much more frequently than assumed – on the largely unknown “silent respiratory reflux” back.
Reflux occurs when stomach acid and digestive enzymes rise into the esophagus, irritating the airways.
Foods with ascorbic acid added to them for a better shelf life and acidic drinks also affect the disease.
Since silent reflux is neither accompanied by upper abdominal discomfort nor by heartburn, the way to the correct diagnosis is often long.
Another cause of chronic cough can be disorders of the vagus nerve, when viral diseases of the upper respiratory tract damage the sensitive nerve endings, which then triggers the stressful continuous coughing.
For the first time, the expert makes the results of her many years of research work available to those affected and doctors alike.
She explains the causes and symptoms and presents her proven diagnostic questionnaires to help find out exactly what has caused the cough.
Her three-pillar treatment plan ensures that silent airway reflux can be successfully and permanently alleviated – so that the cough finally stops.
When the cough no longer stops
Why chronic cough often conceals silent reflux and disorders of the vagus nerve
VAK publishing house GmbH
1. Edition 2021
Paperback, 144 pages
Format: 13,5 x 21,5 cm
ISBN 978-3-86731-245-5
More informationand how to order
The author
Dr. med Jamie Koufman is an otolaryngologist and one of the leading specialists in laryngeal disease in the U.S.
For almost four decades, she has been particularly concerned with the causes and treatment of acid reflux (heartburn).
She runs the Voice Institute, which she founded, and also practices at various hospitals in New York.