Customer Reviews

Mayo Clinic Family Health Book

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

This book covers a very wide amount of information. It is huge. It has all the topics you can think of from injuries, first aid, emergency care, symptoms, WIC stuff, nutrition across the life span, different flu and how to prepare and prevent them, some anatomy and physiology, some biology, diseases and disorders, allergies, brains, eyes, medicine, and ETC ETC. There are too many to count. I mean, this covers everything except those crazy science parts like organic or biochemistry. This is an excellent resource for anyone. I call it the bible of health in the house.

I bought this and was very disappointed. The writing was difficult to comprehend (yes, I'm not a doctor, unlike other reviewers) and I couldn't easily figure out where to look in the book for different illnesses.
I returned the book and purchased the Merck Manual, saving over $10 and loads of time.
I would highly recommend you read a sample chapter before purchasing, which was my mistake.

My recent purchase of two copies of the Mayo Family Health Book -- one for each of my two daughters' families -- reflects my enjoyment and confidence in that publication. My wife and I have had our own copy for quite awhile, and have found answers to most of our medical questions in it. And the considerable discounted price from Amazon is just icing on the cake!

I work in a library, and this book is used for reference by the librarians often. I bought it cause I wanted to have this super reference at home, when needed.
Thanx Mayo Clinic!

We've used this reference book for years and recently bought this updated version. In addition we bought 2 more copies for our children and their families.

This is an okay book, worth having on hand to consult. I don't find it easy to use: it requires a lot of checking and cross-checking and lots of reading. I'd prefer something that is easier to use and quicker to use.

trying to read from cover to cover so far failing but it is so interesting.
had helped me identify many sicknesses for friends and myself.
great good

Even though thisbook feels like it weighs ten pounds, it is FBULOUS!,,,, it iincludes every thing you would ever want to know about Family Health.

This purchase was to update a previous copy that was 6 yrs old. There were quite a few updates. It's a very inclusive Health book, and easy to find information quickly.