Mayo Clinic Family Health Book
by Mayo Clinic
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mayo ClinicEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-06
ISBN: 1603200770
Number of pages: 1448
Publisher: Time Home Entertainment
Book Reviews of Mayo Clinic Family Health Book
Book Review: When it is good, it is very, very good, but -- watch out
Summary: 3 Stars
This review is of the blue, 1,488 page MAYO CLINIC FAMILY HEALTH BOOK that was published in October of 2009. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I was a little disappointed in this tome. Certainly, it is informative and in many quarters almost exhaustive (there are color photos of victims of every type of eczema or seborrhea extant, and boy there are a lot!). Food pyramid? This book has four pyramids, including Vegetarian and Mediterranean diets. I imagine it would be invaluable to the family whose member has been diagnosed with something new and frightening-sounding, or who has been recommended a fairly new and unfamiliar course of treatment. In many cases the book anticipates what the doctor is going to do if s/he offers state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment, and also explains what's going to happen in high-tech settings like MRI machines. The book is patiently and logically written, and really if you want anything more detailed you'll have to look at medical textbooks.
It is worth mentioning, though, that this book is not set up as a problem-solving guide of common illnesses and medical situations. Certainly it does exceptionally well for the reader who is willing to research a topic addressed by conventional medicine. What is particularly missing is any real discussion outside of the conventional American paradigm where the doctor's concern is allopathic (fix what's wrong, especially with high-tech meds) and alternatives are pretty well excluded. In fact, a chapter devoted to ALL forms of complementary and alternative medical practices is only a pathetic ten pages long, which shamefully squeezes in superficial discussions of chiropractic, natural substances, meditation, acupuncture, yoga and homeopathy, among many other forms of treatment - that's ten pages out of more than fourteen hundred!
This calls into question just which treatments are necessarily "alternative". Within those ten few pages, the section on natural remedies lists ten--yes, 10--of the most popular remedies, barely more profound than a PARADE magazine article and not worthy of an institution with the experience and clout of the Mayo. Left out are many quite acceptable natural substances like salvia, dandelion, elderberries --and chamomile (as in tea). In fact, in Germany standardized and concentrated extract of chamomile is commonly prescribed by doctors and filled at pharmacies like any other prescription med, making it "alternative" to nothing to alleviate anxiety. There is nothing about chamomile in the Mayo's book that I could find because it isn't to be found within this book's brief ten mentions. Similarly, a brief passage on "Touch and Manipulation" somehow neglects to use the words "Chiropractor" or "Chiropractic" except in a small blue box. Nor will you hear about the role played by Niacin (Vitamin B3) in lowering bad cholesterol; or zinc, essential to the prostate and which in more than FDA-recognized doses inhibits swelling and is even believed to forestall prostate cancer.
[rant]This gives the impression that Mayo, and by implication the health-care establishment, are not interested in anything other than big-ticket, high-tech (and high-priced) drugs, and this book's slight of complements and alternative therapies manages to reinforce and condone the common stereotype of U.S. physicians, uninterested in natural cures with hundreds (or thousands) of years of tradition, but ever-ready with the Rx pad and the pills. In all fairness, The Mayo has a separate (170-page) MAYO CLINIC BOOK OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, and I only hope the authors have taken the subject more seriously in that work.
So the MAYO CLINIC FAMILY HEALTH BOOK is certainly invaluable in many situtions, but not all. As I mentioned, it does not work particularly well as a problem-solver, where a medically urgent situation pops up (high fever, breaking out in pockmarks), books through which the reader can logically determine which situations warrant a trip to the ER and which can perfectly well be treated at home. YOUR BEST MEDICINE by Goldstein and Goldstein, addresses alternative and non-alternative remedies to common complaints and has that problem-solving quality. Another option is that darling of HMO enrollees, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, by Fries and Vickers, now in its ninth edition, which uses flow charts to get through various medical situations and determine how best to treat them.
Summary of Mayo Clinic Family Health Book
Since its initial publication in 1990, the "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" has become a classic home medical reference, selling more than 1.5 million copies. Now in its fourth edition, this updated and abundantly illustrated volume offers the latest in medical knowledge, with a strong emphasis on self-care. From prevention to treatment, from infancy to old age, this comprehensive health guide offers reliable, easy-to-understand information in five convenient sections: Part I - Injuries and Symptoms; Part II - Pregnancy and Healthy Children; Part III - Healthy Adults; Colour section; Part IV - Diseases and Disorders; and, Part V - Tests and Treatments.Reference Books
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