Your Body's Red Light Warning Signals: Medical Tips That May Save Your Life

When is a headache just an annoyance...and when is it the symptom of a life-threatening condition? When is it crucial to get to a doctor or an emergency room within the next few days, hours, or even minutes?

This potentially lifesaving guide, newly revised and updated, gives you instant access to the information you need to spot a serious medical condition before it’s too late. No matter what the symptom—wavy or distorted vision, a child’s wheezing, a severe sore throat, or an irregular pulse—it offers up-to-date information on possible diagnoses and invaluable advice on when you should seek medical help.

With an essential new section on how to protect yourself from hospital errors, a new appendix listing screening tests that may help you detect health problems even before red-light warning signals show up, special sections on pregnancy and pediatrics, and tips on care for the elderly scattered throughout, this book is a useful resource for all. Written with expertise by three physicians and the input of hundreds of other medical specialists, it is the next best thing to having a doctor in the house.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Neil Shulman, M.D., is associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been on the medical school faculty since 1972, teaching, seeing patients, and conducting medical research with over $10 million in funding. He is also author or coauthor of over one hundred scientific papers and author or coauthor of over thirty books, including fiction, nonfiction, and children's books. One book was made into the movie Doc Hollywood, starring Michael J. Fox. He lectures internationally on serious medical topics and performs as a comedian. He is president of Patch Adams' organization, the Gesundheit! Institute.

The pediatric section was written by Joy Lawn, M.D. Dr. Lawn received an undergraduate medical degree with distinction from Nottingham University, England. She is a member of the Royal College of Pediatricians and has been a lecturer in child health at Kumasi Medical School, Ghana. She has had over 60,000 pediatric visits.

Jack Birge, M.D., is the medical director for performance improvement for Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Georgia. He is also clinical assistant professor of community medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia. Dr. Birge has been practicing primary care medicine since 1959 and has had over 200,000 encounters with patients from all walks of life, from delivery to nursing-home care.

Joon Ahn, M.D., is a practicing cardiologist in Gainesville, Georgia. He did additional training at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Emory University School of Medecine.