Professional's Handbook of Complementary & Alternative Medicines (Paperback)

~ Juan R. Avila (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although written for healthcare professionals by two professors of pharmacokinetics, this handy little compendium to botanical medicine has a legitimate place in consumer collections where users expect to find standard pharmacopeias. Easy to use and fully referenced, this handbook lists some 300 herbal remedies; each entry includes generic and common trade names, actions, dosage, adverse reactions, contradictions and precautions, and more. Special logos, like "Alert symbol," "Research findings," "Folklore," etc., enhance the reference's appeal.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

This first book of its kind anywhere, this guide fills an enormous void in the health care professional's library of resources. The book takes a scientific, comprehensive look at complementary and alternative medicines, focusing mainly on herbal medicines. It presents all the important facts on nearly 300 of the most commonly used herbs in a drug handbook format.

Product Details

• Paperback: 762 pages
• Publisher: Springhouse Corporation; 1st edition (January 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874349710
• ISBN-13: 978-0874349719
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #528,869 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Professional Reference, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This is a one of a kind! The well-researched and in-depth science used makes it extremely handy when posed with questions about the most obscure alternative medicines. Dosing, drug interactions, side effects, and sources are all listed. Very handy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my most used texts: an essential, a gem, November 16, 2005

By	B. Stein (Adelaide Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Professional's Handbook of Complementary & Alternative Medicines (PROFESSIONALS HANDBOOK OF COMPLEMENTARY & ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE) (Paperback)

In day to day practice I probably refer to this book as much as many others combined: in our oncology centre about 40-60% of patients are using some form of alternative medicine.
This book is better than the others I own (Mills phytotherapy, the german commission E monographs, Yang Chinese herbal medicines).
This book is not intended as a prescription guide, but it is superb for evaluating a given preparation. It provides a quick summary of over 300 compounds: an introduction covering forms, components, actions and reported uses as well as standard dosing. This is followed by adverse reactions, interactions and precautions together with a commentary. This is where this little book stands out.
My only disappointment with the book has been when the compound of interest does not appear within its covers: a lot is crammed into 800 odd pages though. However each edition has increased its coverage (so should you upgrade your edition: yes!!).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but biased, February 3, 2009

By	D. M. Anderson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Professional's Handbook of Complementary & Alternative Medicines (PROFESSIONALS HANDBOOK OF COMPLEMENTARY & ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE) (Paperback)

If you are looking for a reason to tell a patient not to use any alternative medicine, this is your book. If, however, you'd like a book on safe and effective alternative medicine, as the title suggests, you will be disappointed. This text appears to be funded by one or more pharmaceutical interest. When studies that support the efficacy of a particular therapy are actually mentioned, they are later brought into question. However, even the most anecdotal negative study will be highlighted. The message of this book is: There is no alternative medicine. Sadly, there seems to be no source that will fairly assess the risks and the rewards of alternative therapy. Keep looking.