Before You Call the Doctor: Safe, Effective Self-care for over 300 Common Medical Problems

An A-to-Z reference to the essentials of good home health care for more than 300 ailments, symptoms, and health-related concerns

Before You Call the Doctor is easy to follow, and it's organized to get you the information you need--quickly.

Does someone in your family have a headache?
- Find headache listed alphabetically in Chapter 7, "The Head and Nervous System." There, you'll learn about the three most common kinds of headaches and their causes in the section called "What's Going On."
- Under "Before You Call the Doctor," you'll find a range of home-treatment suggestions, from common over-the-counter medications, wet towels, and ice packs to the techniques of massage, acupressure, nasal decongestion, and headache prevention.
- "When to Call the Doctor" tells you what to do--and what to expect--when self-care strategies don't work.
- Finally, there are six "Red Flags"--special signs to watch for that indicate a headache needs immediate expert attention.

This indispensable guidebook contains detailed, practical information on every page to help you achieve greater medical self-reliance.

Bobbie Hasselbring is a health and medical writer whose work has appeared in Glamour, Women’s Sports and Fitness, Pacific Northwest, and many other publications. She is a health and fitness columnist for the Portland Oregonian newspaper and Northwest magazine. Her books include: Aching for Love: The Sexual Drama of Adult Children of Alcoholics (Harper and Row, with Mary Ann Klausner); The Medical Self-Care Book of Women’s Health *(Doubleday, with Sadja Greenwod, M.D., and Michael Castleman); and Pregnancy and Childbirth (World). She lives in Beavercreek, Oregan.

Michael Castleman writes about health and sexuality. For thirty-five years, his journalism focused on health defined broadly, including optimal wellness, mainstream medicine, alternative therapies, nutrition, fitness, and sexuality. Castleman also writes mystery novels set in San Francisco.

Anne Simmons M.D., is a board-certified family practitioner. She practices in a primary care clinic affiliated with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California’s San Francisco Medical Center. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, co-author Michael Castleman, and their two children, Jeffery and Maya.