The Medical Advisor: The Complete Guide to Alternative Conventional Treatments

Combines modern medical science with alternative therapies in a guide with thousands of ailments and treatment options, including an index of conventional and natural medicines and information on emergencies, symptoms, and first aid.

Time-Life's entry into the health care field is carefully planned, handsomely executed and basically quite conservative in approach. Its board of consultants includes such luminaries as Harvard's Herbert Benson, pioneer of mind/body medicine, as well as board-certified specialists in conventional fields and hands-on practitioners of such alternative therapies as chiropractic, yoga, acupressure, aromatherapy, homeopathy and herbal medicine. In the alphabetically arranged section, "Ailments and Options," which lists some 300 symptoms and ailments, readers can quickly find treatments for problems as vague as Aches and Pains, as minor as Swimmer's Ear, or as serious as Stomach Cancer. Causes and prevention are discussed, and appropriate therapies are described, with conventional medical treatment presented first and in greatest detail. Care is taken to differentiate between cures and palliative measures, and highlighted warnings signal when to call a doctor and when to beware of quacks, a helpful feature regarding such chronic conditions as arthritis, often a magnet for quacks. A first-aid manual, a catalogue of conventional and natural medicines, a visual diagnostic guide and an atlas of the body round out the text. With scope so broad, the book's inevitable drawback is its lack of depth. Nevertheless, this is an effective introduction to the world of alternative therapies, affording a safe first step for readers who want to move cautiously into areas of nontraditional healing. 250,000 first printing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.