Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide

by Harvard Medical School; Anthony L. Komaroff

• ISBN13: 9780684863733
• ISBN10: 0684863731
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-12-28
• Publisher: Free Press

Summary

The Harvard Medical School provides state-of-the-art health care to millions of Americans. Now, with this newly updated guidebook you can benefit from the expertise of more than 8,000 health professionals from some of the nation's most esteemed hospitals and research centers.Today Americans have a better chance of living longer, healthier lives than ever before. But before we can utilize the benefits of modern medicine we must learn how to manage our own health.The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guideis an essential, empowering resource that can help you to navigate our health care system with ease and confidence. Whether you depend on traditional fee-for-service care or subscribe to an HMO, this comprehensive volume will provide you with all the medical know-how you need at every stage of life, including: up-to-the-minute information about the diagnosis and treatment of hundreds of medical conditions, including the latest breakthroughs in diagnostic testing and the newest drug discoveries an easy-to-understand introduction to our health care system and how to navigate it expert advice on how to make the most of the time spent with your doctor the benefits and side effects of many brand-name and generic drugs what to do in case of a medical emergency suggestions for healthy living and disease prevention first-person survival stories and testimonials coping strategies from the country's most renowned physicians the latest scientific studies on low-carbohydrate diets, nutrition, and good health...and much more. With symptom charts, benefit/risk-assessment graphs, resource listings, a full glossary, even personal medical forms, this guidebook is the key to getting the best health care possible for you and your family.

Table of Contents

Foreword	8	(9)
Navigating the Health Care System	17	(12)
Taking Charge of Your Health	29	(68)
How to Stay Healthy	29	(8)
Diet and Nutrition	37	(13)
Exercise and Fitness	50	(6)
Using Addictive Substances	56	(12)
Contraception and Safer Sex	68	(9)
Medical Checkups and Screening Tests	77	(9)
Safety and Preventing Injury	86	(3)
Stress	89	(1)
Immunizations and Travel Health	89	(3)
Preventing Infection	92	(5)
How Your Body Works	97	(24)
How You Read and Remember	97	(1)
How You Speak and Understand Speech	98	(1)
How You Recognize Objects	99	(1)
How You See	100	(1)
How You Hear	101	(1)
How You Feel Pain	102	(1)
How You Smell and Taste	103	(1)
How You Move	104	(2)
Your Vital Functions and the Autonomic Nervous System	106	(2)
How You Circulate Blood	108	(1)
How You Make Blood	109	(1)
How You Breathe	110	(1)
How Hormones Work	111	(1)
How You Digest	112	(2)
How You Eliminate Wastes and Keep Fluids in Balance	114	(1)
How Your Kidneys Work	115	(1)
How You Reproduce	116	(2)
How You Fight Bacterial Infections	118	(1)
How You Fight Viral Infections	119	(1)
How You Heal Injuries	120	(1)
Diagnosing Disease	121	(50)
You and Your Doctor	121	(5)
Understanding Genetics	126	(9)
Guide to Imaging	135	(18)
Diagnostic Tests	153	(10)
Going to the Hospital	163	(8)
Symptom Charts	171	(166)
How to Use the Symptom Charts	171	(1)
General Symptoms	172	(94)
Women's Symptoms	266	(27)
Symptoms of Infants and Children	293	(37)
Men's Symptoms	330	(7)
Brain and Nervous System	337	(54)
Stroke	342	(12)
Headache	354	(3)
Cancer	357	(2)
Injuries	359	(3)
Thinking Disorders	362	(6)
Other Degenerative Diseases	368	(5)
Other Nervous System Disorders	373	(10)
Sleep and Sleep Problems	383	(8)
Behavioral and Emotional Disorders	391	(24)
Treatment	392	(1)
Types of Therapy	393	(2)
Mood and Anxiety Disorders	395	(12)
Personality Disorders	407	(2)
Psychoses	409	(2)
Other Behavioral and Emotional Disorders	411	(4)
Eyes	415	(32)
Eyelids	418	(2)
Focusing Problems	420	(7)
Outer Surface of the Eye	427	(3)
Inside the Eye	430	(15)
Other Eye Conditions	445	(2)
Ears, Nose, and Throat	447	(22)
Ears	449	(11)
Nose	460	(6)
Throat	466	(3)
Teeth, Mouth, and Gums	469	(24)
Preventing Tooth Decay and Plaque	470	(4)
Common Dental Problems	474	(5)
Common Dental Procedures	479	(6)
Dental Injuries	485	(1)
Cosmetic Improvement of Teeth	486	(1)
Sores of the Mouth, Lip, and Tongue	487	(2)
Cancerous and Precancerous Conditions of the Mouth	489	(1)
Tongue Variations	490	(1)
Problems of the Salivary Glands	491	(2)
Lungs	493	(35)
Infections	494	(11)
Asthma	505	(19)
Lung Cancer	524	(4)
Skin, Hair, and Nails	528	(33)
Skin	530	(26)
Hair	556	(3)
Nails	559	(2)
Color Guide to Visual Diagnosis	561	(9)
Fungal Infections	561	(1)
Bacterial Infections	562	(1)
Other Important Skin Conditions	562	(2)
Noncancerous (Benign) Growths	564	(1)
Precancerous Growths	564	(1)
Cancerous (Malignant) Growths	565	(1)
Infestations with Insects	566	(1)
Scaling and Itching Conditions	566	(1)
Injuries	567	(1)
Hair Loss for Unknown Reasons	567	(1)
Infections of the Nails	567	(1)
Disorders of the Mouth	567	(1)
Disorders of the Eyes and Eyelids	567	(1)
Common Childhood Diseases	568	(2)
Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery	570	(22)
Breasts	571	(5)
Face	576	(6)
Skin	582	(7)
Body Shaping	589	(3)
Bones, Joints, and Muscles	592	(50)
Bones	594	(8)
Joints	602	(8)
Muscles, Tendons, and Ligaments	610	(3)
Neck, Shoulders, Arms, and Hands	613	(6)
Back, Hips, Legs, and Feet	619	(23)
Heart, Blood Vessels, and Circulation	642	(67)
Blood Pressure	644	(8)
Disease of the Heart's Arteries: Coronary Artery Disease	652	(20)
Abnormal Heart Rate and Rhythm	672	(10)
Diseases of the Heart Muscle and Lining	682	(7)
Diseases of the Heart Valves	689	(9)
Disease of the Arteries and Veins	698	(11)
Blood Disorders	709	(34)
Blood Donation and Transfusion	711	(2)
Anemia	713	(11)
Cancers of the Blood Cells (Leukemias)	724	(3)
Cancers of the Lymph Glands (Lymphomas)	727	(7)
Other Blood Disorders	734	(4)
Cancer	738	(5)
Digestive System	743	(60)
Esophagus	746	(6)
Stomach	752	(6)
Liver	758	(10)
Pancreas	768	(2)
Gallbladder and Bile Ducts	770	(4)
Small Intestine	774	(4)
Diarrheal Diseases and Disorders	778	(3)
Large Intestine	781	(13)
Rectal and Anal Disorders	794	(4)
Other Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders	798	(5)
Urinary System	803	(26)
Urinary Tract Infection and Inflammation	804	(6)
Kidney Disease and Kidney Failure	810	(12)
Cancer	822	(2)
Other Urinary Tract Disorders	824	(5)
Hormonal Disorders	829	(34)
Diabetes	832	(12)
Thyroid Gland Disorders	844	(8)
Parathyroid Gland Disorders	852	(1)
Metabolic Disorder	853	(3)
Adrenal Gland Disorders	856	(3)
Pituitary Gland Disorders	859	(2)
Superhormones	861	(2)
Infections and Immune System Diseases	863	(40)
Infections	871	(23)
Immune System Diseases	894	(9)
Infertility, Pregnancy, and Childbirth	903	(42)
Infertility	904	(10)
Pregnancy	914	(9)
Common Discomforts of Pregnancy	923	(5)
Serious Conditions of Pregnancy	928	(7)
Childbirth	935	(10)
Health of Infants and Children	945	(76)
Immunizations and the Diseases They Prevent	946	(5)
Health and Development of Children Younger Than Age 2	951	(36)
Health and Development of Children Older Than Age 2	987	(34)
Health of Adolescents	1021	(18)
For Parents: Knowing Your Adolescent Child	1021	(4)
For Teens: Knowing Yourself	1025	(14)
Health of Women	1039	(47)
A Woman's Reproductive System	1039	(2)
Tests Women May Have	1041	(2)
Menstruation	1043	(4)
Menopause	1047	(9)
Breasts	1056	(9)
Vulva	1065	(1)
Vagina	1066	(1)
Cervix	1067	(4)
Uterus	1071	(7)
Ovaries and Fallopian Tubes	1078	(4)
Sexuality	1082	(1)
Problems with Female Sexual Function	1083	(1)
Women and Violence	1084	(2)
Health of Men	1086	(26)
Penis	1087	(2)
Testicles and Scrotum	1089	(2)
Sexuality	1091	(1)
Problems with Male Sexual Function	1092	(4)
Prostate Gland	1096	(15)
The Aging Male	1111	(1)
Health of Seniors	1112	(8)
Strength Training for Seniors	1113	(1)
How Our Senses Change with Age	1114	(1)
Health Issues of Older Adults	1114	(6)
Caregiving and Eldercare	1120	(18)
Caregiving in Your Home	1120	(10)
Support Systems	1130	(3)
Living Arrangements	1133	(3)
Caregiving for a Person with Alzheimer Disease or Other Dementia	1136	(2)
Death and Dying	1138	(10)
Issues at the End of Life	1139	(4)
Putting Affairs in Order	1143	(1)
After Death	1144	(4)
Medicines	1148	(42)
The Basics	1148	(4)
Safety	1152	(5)
Managing Your Medicines	1157	(3)
Common Drug Classes	1160	(3)
Drug Index	1163	(4)
Drug Interactions Chart	1167	(23)
First Aid and Emergency Care	1190	(28)
Emergency Care: A to Z	1191	(27)
Replaceable Parts of Irreplaceable You	1218	(3)
Appendix	1221	(30)
Medical Terminology	1221	(7)
Glossary	1221	(7)
Board-Certified Medical Specialists	1228	(1)
Information Resources	1228	(15)
Diseases, Conditions, and Issues: Private Organizations	1228	(10)
Diseases, Conditions, and Issues: Federal Agencies	1238	(1)
Medical Internet Resources	1239	(1)
National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Centers	1239	(1)
Poison Control Centers	1239	(4)
Medical Forms and Charts	1243	(8)
Living Wills	1243	(3)
Medical Records Summary	1246	(1)
Type of Activity and Calories Burned	1247	(1)
Calorie, Fiber, and Fat Content of Common Foods	1247	(4)
Index	1251