I may not always agree with everything you offer, but, in this crass sound-bite/bullet-list/bottom-line culture, your letters are always poem.

This is the funniest Cary column I've read in quite awhile. Very nicely done. I'm not sure about the advice, but I can't imagine any better.

I am somewhat of an erratic office cougher, having bad days for no discernable reason in which I may cough 10 times in an hour. It's mortifying, but I can't help but love something about it, too. The experience of the body doing something spastic in an office environment where professional restraint is expected at all times seems subliminally subversive. (I generally embrace the body unreservedly, as I figure it's the only thing I'm sure to have for the rest of my life.)

Given the choice, of course, I'd stop coughing immediately. Fortunately, I've never experienced anything like the LW's problem. If earplugs or an iPod are an option, they might be worth considering.

I'm a cougher, I always have been. I get seasonal allergies in the summer and fall, and I get colds in the winter and spring. I drink lots of water, and I sometimes take Claritin or DayQuil, and that sometimes helps but not always and I'd rather not be on medication every waking moment, to be honest.

The past few weeks my coughing got really bad, and everyone in my little area commented on it so it was kind of embarassing. Finally I went to the doctor and it turns out I have a pulmonary embolism! Ha ha ha! That'll shut 'em up.

Well, probably not, but my heart dropped to my stomach when I started reading this. I am a cougher, and I did work in a newspaper office (though I no longer work there). My cough is not nearly so bad as to fit the LW's description, but the idea that it could have bothered someone enough to write a letter to Salon fills me with dread.

Let me just start by saying that while this person may have a health problem in terms of his cough, the LW has a much more serious problem. Yes, I'm sure your co-worker coughs intentionally for the sole purpose of annoying you. And what exactly is your basis for being "sure" it's stress, when the doctors have said otherwise? Are you a doctor? Have you even talked to your co-worker about his problem? Or are you one of those twits who thinks all illnesses are stress-related and can be cured by incense and New Age music?

Anyway, I can tell you that from the symptoms you describe it sounds a lot like acid reflux, or more specifically Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), which is what I have. And as much as I loooove annoying my co-workers, let me tell you it's not worth it. The feeling is usually a tickling sensation in the lower throat that quickly gets to be unbearable, forcing you to cough in order to try to expel whatever you feel is there. The problem is that there's nothing there, and nothing gets expelled, resulting in a dry cough. Once in a while, the cough will be so strong that it will actually go all the way down to the stomach (which is where the irritation is coming from), resulting in some violent contractions and maybe giving a couple of minutes of relief. Medicine like Nexium or Aciphex helps very little, if at all, and dieting likewise has limited results. Fortunately, mine was fairly mild. I was so afraid of bothering my co-workers that I would sit and let the irritation build up until I couldn't stand it, then sneak to the bathroom or the hallway and let loose (scary for anyone who hapenned to be in the stall or walking in). I had to see 5 different doctors to even get it diagnosed correctly, and am considering surgery pretty soon. So, in short, if it's annoying to you, think of how much more annoying it is to the co-worker.

My point is that this letter is pointless. If he were completely unaware of his problem and not doing anything to change it, you would have a case. But to complain about a legitimate health problem that the guy is actively trying to fix and then arrogantly pronounce your own ignorant "neurosis" diagnosis instead strikes me as beyond callous.

P.S. If it actually is acid reflux, your colleague may want to consider the Plicator - a new procedure that supposedly takes only 20 minutes and is minimally invasive:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease#Other_treatments

Maybe your co-worker is allergic to dust and mold. I am, and although I take medicine for it, I still sometimes have coughing spells that last for a couple of minutes. Those are bad enough, and I assure you that anyone who is coughing constantly is desperate for relief. It sounds like your co-worker is doing everything he can to get a diagnosis and treatment for his cough, so I suggest you do as a previous poster suggested and bring your ipod to work. Some annoyances you just have to learn to tolerate.

Your answer was a dream in the deep of a cold night under layers of down.

My fiance has a chronic genetic lung disease, and he coughs, periodically. He tries to be as polite as possible about this, covers his mouth, and is as quiet as he can be. But he has a chronic disease. I am enraged to think that some petty, immature, selfish creep would complain (whiny voice): "But R coughs *all* the time..."

Really, grow up, get some humility and some compassion, realize that you may have some medical condition someday that annoys little immature losers like yourself, and perhaps consider working at home so that no sad person can irritate you and your perfect self.

and LW is not in the position to diagnose the co-worker as a "stress" case.

Of the many possibilities and the co-worker may or may not have been diagnosed with one of these: sarcoidosis, various forms of lung cancer, COPD, emphysema, kidney conditions, lymphoma, allergies, lyme disease, acid relux disease, chronic bronchitis, TB, esophageal cancer, chronic sinus infections...

LW strikes me as rather immature -- excessively petty and judgmental, with little or no comprehension of medical conditions.