To Our Persistent Cough Patients from Texas and Louisiana: An Open Letter

To  Dr. Mandel Sher’s Cough Patients from Texas and Louisiana:  An Open Letter

The devastation is hard for us to imagine.  The immediate and longer-term toll on life, health, property, economy and so much more pose what may now seem like insurmountable challenges.  But based on the determination and perseverance demonstrated by Dr. Mandel Sher’s Cough patients who travel from Texas and Louisiana for his Cough expertise, we are optimistic that relief and recovery lie ahead.    We understand that travel plans for Cough patients who normally travel from Texas or Louisiana to see Dr. Mandel Sher may temporarily be interrupted.   So, the purpose of this open letter to Center for Cough’s Cough patients from Texas and Louisiana is to reach-out and express our concern, support, and gratitude for you and all those professional and civilian responders who are helping you and yours.

Dr. Mandel Sher and Center for Cough understand that our Cough patients from Texas and Louisiana may experience an exacerbation of their Chronic Cough due to Cough irritants.  In addition, Texans who were not suffering with Chronic Cough before Harvey’s flooding and standing water may now find themselves with a persistent cough triggered by environmental irritants.

Allergies and Asthma, are Cough irritants that may be stimulated from mold and environmental factors associated with Hurricane Harvey.   Even people who have not had Chronic Cough before Hurricane Harvey may find that they are “hard-wired” to cough and recently introduced or exaggerated environmental irritants may trigger cough. 

Here are some of the health affects Dr. Mandel Sher’s Cough patients from Texas and Louisiana might anticipate:

  • Increased Cough Frequency and Intensity: One of the potential consequences of flooding and standing water is mold.  Mold can trigger allergies and/or asthma.  And, allergies and/or asthma can trigger Chronic Cough.
  • Stomach Distress: Our Cough patients who experience a dry persistent cough are advised to sip, sip, sip water to stay hydrated and lubricated.  Another potential consequence of flooding and standing water is contamination of a water source.  And, contaminated water source can result in stomach distress.
  • Mosquito Borne Illnesses: Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.  At best, mosquitoes are pesky annoyances.  At worst, mosquito borne illnesses such as West Nile virus and Zika can result in health effects.
  • Stress, Anxiety and/or Depression: Hurricane Harvey and its impact are traumatic.  The mental health challenges affect everyone – those people with existing stress, anxiety and/or depression conditions as well as give rise to new conditions.

Thank You to the people of Texas and Louisiana for demonstrating determination, resiliency, and kindness to one another while weathering this storm.  Dr. Mandel Sher’s and Center for Cough team’s hearts and thoughts are with you.  727-393-8067.

Throat Tickle and Urge to Throat Clear: Throat Clearing is a Form of Cough

Are you constantly throat clearing to get rid of the tickle and urge to clear your throat?  Throat Clearing is a form of Persistent Cough.

Throat Clearing leads to more Throat Clearing just as Chronic Cough begets more cough.  Break the cycle!  Learn how to quiet the tickle and fight the urge.  Dr. Mandel Sher offers comprehensive treatment and real, sustainable, and remarkable results:  727-393-8067. 

Both Chronic Cough and Constant Throat Clearing are symptoms of underlying medical condition(s), and often the only symptom present. People who experience Chronic Throat Clearing, like Persistent Cough, report an urge to get rid of a feeling like there’s something stuck in the back of their throat.  But when they give-into the urge and throat clear or cough, rarely is there anything there.   And, both share similar anatomical, personal and professional consequences including irritated vocal cords, embarrassment for the throat clearer, and annoyance for the people hearing this repetitive and grating sound.

Dr. Mandel Sher is a national leader in relieving Chronic Cough:  727-393-8067.  His approach is rooted in state-of-the-art, evidence-based medicine blended with cutting-edge innovation derived from Center for Cough’s clinical research and Dr. Sher’s contributions to continuing physician education. 

Each consultation results in a comprehensive, integrated, and rapid response treatment plan that is compatible with each person’s unique circumstances.  The results are REMARKABLE!  Motivation is a key ingredient to success.  In some cases, a family member, friend, or colleague is the one who schedules an appointment with Dr. Sher and accompanies the patient to the appointment. 

We all clear our throats from time-to-time to get rid of a feeling of fullness, but like cough, it irritates the vocal cords and perpetuates the cycle.  Irritated vocal cords cause us to notice otherwise routine and unnoticeable functions such as swallowing the mucous our bodies naturally make daily.  The more we notice this sensation, the more we have an urge to throat clear or cough, and the more we do, the more we have to.

Chronic Throat Clearing, like Chronic Cough, often begins with an upper respiratory infection, allergies, acid or non-acid reflux, and/or medication.  But the habit of throat clearing or coughing continues long after the initial event.  Treatment of Chronic Throat Clearing, like Persistent Cough, may include behavioral and voice therapy components to break the cycle.

You have so much to contribute and say.  Don’t let Chronic Throat Clearing and Coughing be a distraction.  Crack the Chronic Throat Clearing and Coughing Puzzle and achieve real and sustainable relief.  Contact Dr. Mandel Sher and Center for Cough team:  727-393-8067. www.centerforcough.com

Our Nation Needs You: The Importance of Clinical Trials

Our Nation Needs You… to Volunteer…  Remember this image of  Uncle Sam aiming his pointer finger at the viewer with the slogan “We Need You?”  Imagine replacing Uncle Sam with the Director of the National Institutes of Health speaking about the importance of volunteering for clinical trials.  We Need You!  Clinical trials can move scientific discoveries from the lab to the patient bedside.  Our nation needs more Americans to volunteer in clinical trials to continue to make medical advances.  Our Nation Needs You to Volunteer!

Dr. Mandel Sher is a leading investigator of Chronic Cough clinical trials.  Dr. Sher works with global researchers, scientists, and physicians to evaluate Chronic Cough medications.  Contact Nurse Amy:  727-210-3259 ,to join Center for Cough’s open Cough studies currently enrolling adults who are Coughing for 1 year or longer.    

Participation in clinical research may have longer-term and short-term benefits.  According to Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the National Institutes of Health:

“We need to spread the word about the value of participating in clinical trials.  Signing up for a clinical trial may indeed benefit medical research and help future generations.  But it is not strictly an altruistic endeavor.  In many instances, trial participants do gain personal advantages, such as, improved disease outcomes or better health.  (emphasis added) And we should not be shy about telling that story.”  https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/nih-director/articles/collins/importance-of-clinical-trials.pdf

Sometimes, people do not enroll simply because they do not know about the availability and potential benefits of clinical trials.  Dr. Mandel Sher and Center for Cough team want you to know.

Please contact Center for Cough’s dedicated Research Nurse Coordinator, Nurse Amy, at:  727-210-3259.  Learn how you can join our efforts to advance the treatment of Chronic Cough.

Dr Sher treats patients from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and across the USA

Calling All Coughers! Dr. Sher is Looking For Participants to Help Evaluate a New Cough Drug

Dr Sher treats patients from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and across the USA

Dr.Sher and Center for Cough are currently enrolling patients in Cough studies.

Calling All Coughers!  Dr. Sher is Looking For Participants to Help Evaluate a New Cough Drug.  Please call 727-210-3259 to Speak with Nurse Amy Directly and Join Our Effort: 727-210-3259

Dr. Mandel Sher is a leading investigator of new cough medications.  Dr. Sher advises national and global scientists and researchers developing new cough drugs.  Center for Cough has been conducting national and global pharmaceutical trials since 2009.

Center for Cough conducts clinical research studies as part of the process of FDA approval for new Chronic Cough treatment options. These studies are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and give patients who qualify, and volunteer to participate in these studies, access to the most current treatment options before they become available to the general public.  Here is some general information about the current  Cough studies at Center for Cough:

  • Women and men over 18 years of age with Chronic Cough are eligible to participate
  • Health insurance is NOT necessary to participate
  • Study medications, labs, examinations, and other medical tests are provided at no cost to eligible patients
  • Participation in research studies is always voluntary
  • Volunteers are carefully selected based on meeting specific criteria

Center for Cough’s full-time Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator, Amy, is the primary contact for research volunteers.  Amy has over 35 years of experience in patient care, most helping patients with respiratory disorders.

Dr. Sher and Center for Cough team appreciates the contribution to Chronic Cough treatment being made by research study volunteers.  Chronic Cough in the United States is an under-diagnosed, under-treated, and under-appreciated medical condition.  Approximately 12% of the population suffers personal, social, and professional consequences from this embarrassing, annoying and worrisome condition. 

Dr. Mandel Sher WILL help you relieve the frequency and intensity of your Cough.  Contact Dr. Sher and Take Back Your Life:  727-393-8067.

 

Kids and Cough: Dr. Mandel Sher Cough Expert at FDA

Nearly 100 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose including children, according to the Center for Disease Control.  Drug treatment for kids and cough has come under increasing scrutiny due to opioids in some medications.

One internationally known Tampa Bay area Cough Specialist, Dr. Mandel Sher, is doing his part to increase the safety of treating kids and cough and stem the tide of cough medicine-related opioid deaths.  Dr. Mandel Sher, Cough Expert and Founder of the Center for Cough in Largo, focuses on comprehensive cough treatment and leads the investigation of novel, safe medicines. 

Dr. Mandel Sher represented the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology at FDA Roundtable of Experts on Kids and Cough

Dr. Sher represented the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology at a roundtable meeting of experts convened by the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research on the use of cough suppressants in children, particularly opioid-containing antitussives. 

Dr. Sher says, “At the present, there is no safe and effective cough medicine for both children and adults.” 

As a result of input by Dr. Sher and his colleagues, the FDA has restricted the use of codeine and tramadol medicines in children.

Codeine is approved to treat pain and cough, and tramadol is approved for pain. These medicines, however, have been shown to carry serious risks, including slowed or difficult breathing and death, which appear to be a greater risk in children younger than 12 years. Codeine and tramadol should also be limited in some older children, according to the FDA. Codeine and tramadol are both opioids.

Dr. Sher is the only dedicated cough doctor in the Southeast, a leading clinical investigator of new cough drugs, and an educator among his peers.  After 25 years of diagnosing and effectively treating patients with chronic cough in Sher Allergy Specialists, Dr. Sher founded the Center for Cough in 2009.  He offers patients a comprehensive approach to cough diagnosis and cough treatment.

Dr. Sher is a frequent contributor at national professional society meetings.  So far in 2017, Dr. Sher has presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.  Dr. Sher has also contributed to the evolving body of knowledge on cough by being a co-author on a paper reporting clinical research findings of a promising new non-narcotic cough drug that was presented at the American Thoracic Society International Meeting in Washington, D.C. last month.