Rating: 
Summary: A must for any home.
Review: Around our house, we refer to "Take Care of Yourself" as The Book. We have found it to be a valuable resource, especially the flowcharts which help you determine what you can treat at home (and how to treat it) and what you should call or see a doctor about. Even better, it covers wellness care as well as illnesses and injuries. It has special sections for men's and women's specific health problems as well. I think that every household should have a copy of this book.
Rating:
Summary: A must for any home.
Review: Around our house, we refer to "Take Care of Yourself" as The Book. We have found it to be a valuable resource, especially the flowcharts which help you determine what you can treat at home (and how to treat it) and what you should call or see a doctor about. Even better, it covers wellness care as well as illnesses and injuries. It has special sections for men's and women's specific health problems as well. I think that every household should have a copy of this book.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for everyone in the "managed care" environment
Review: Enables the reader to take charge of his/her basic medical care by explaining in plain terms the disease process, what to do for yourself at home, and what to generally expect at the doctor's office. Makes that office or ER visit w/its high copay worthwhile, and less wasteful of MD time, because you've already done all the simple at-home treatments. Simple and easy-to-follow, lets you know how much worry you'll need by the guiding phrases "see physician now" or "make appointment". I've had my copy since 1980, and NOBODY is getting it away from me.
Rating: 
Summary: A lightweight and easy to read self-care medical book.
Review: Even though the cover claims that the book is 'The Complete Illustrated Guide to Medical Self-Care', there are better books that you can purchase for a few dollars more that meet the claim. It is very easy to read and not intimidating at all like the other medical self-care books. That is probably why this book is so popular. I was given this copy free by my HMO a long time back and I have found it valuable enough to keep it for all these years. Anytime I experience some symptoms of bad health, I refer to this book first to see if I can find a quick solution. Only if I can't find it in this book, do I pull out my other two books - 'The Merck Manual of Medical Information' and 'The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide' which are absolutely the best in the field.There is a very good section on preventive health care at the beginning of the book followed by 1-2 page descriptions of 175+ symptoms and home treatment advice. For each symptom, there is a simple flow chart that is easy to follow in case you are experiencing that symptom. The flow chart will lead you through possible causes of the symptom and what to do about it. The especially useful feature of this flow chart technique is the focus on when to apply home treatment and when to see a doctor. My family and I have always been interested in treating medical problems at home if possible before getting the medical establishments involved. This book helped us try to treat basic symptoms at home more effectively without fear of making a mistake. I am not sure if I would recommend the purchase of this book, but if you receive a questionaire from your HMO that promises to mail you this book for filling out the form, I would say 'go for it'. I definitely recommend buying one of the following two books for home self-care - The Merck Manual of Medical Information and The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide. If in doubt, all of these books strongly advice you to seek a medical professional's assistance. Bottom line - I don't think it hurts to have a couple of self-care books that arm you with knowledge about basic health related problems and maybe even appease your hypochondriac side.
Rating: 
Summary: basic, need-to-know information
Review: Find your problem and go through their simple charts to see what you should do. It's very simple, so there is not a lot of depth. Treat minor burns, scrapes, fevers, colds, etc. There are also an emergency and sexuality sections. This is by no means an exhaustive book of symptoms and diagnoses, but still good to have.
Rating:
Summary: A tremendously valuable reference
Review: I have referred to this book innumerable times, and each time have easily found the guidance I needed. The book is logically arranged and well-written, and the flow charts which walk you through the symptoms and direct you toward either home treatment or the doctor's office are brilliant. No-one looking for a guide to evaluating the seriousness of symptoms would regret for a moment the purchase of this book. I only wish that the book aimed specifically for children and their illnesses were not out of print.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Useful (Refers to Sixth Edition)
Review: My father is a 79-year-old retiree from a major automobile manufacturer, and his former employer sent this book to all its retirees. My father finds it extremely useful. He often uses it, not instead of going to the doctor, but the day before doing so. He tracks down his symptoms in this well-organized book, and then is able to better discuss his concerns with the doctor. The book does not try to replace a doctor, and most of the handy diagnostic flow-charts have several endpoints labeled with "Call your physician". Another way this book can be useful is just after a doctor visit, when you can get clear explanations of whatever the physician diagnosed. This book also contains good basic health maintenance and healthy living advice. We have the Sixth Edition and use it often.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Useful (Refers to Sixth Edition)
Review: My father is a 79-year-old retiree from a major automobile manufacturer, and his former employer sent this book to all its retirees. My father finds it extremely useful. He often uses it, not instead of going to the doctor, but the day before doing so. He tracks down his symptoms in this well-organized book, and then is able to better discuss his concerns with the doctor. The book does not try to replace a doctor, and most of the handy diagnostic flow-charts have several endpoints labeled with "Call your physician". Another way this book can be useful is just after a doctor visit, when you can get clear explanations of whatever the physician diagnosed. This book also contains good basic health maintenance and healthy living advice. We have the Sixth Edition and use it often.
Rating:
Summary: You should have this book
Review: This book is a consumer's guide to staying out of the doctor's office. The authors' goals are to help ordinary people recognize when they need to seek a doctor's help, and when they can get along fine without a doctor. The book mostly focuses on symptoms and common injuries. As a reader, you say to yourself, "I have a rash," or "My daughter has a sore throat." Then you look up the symptoms in the index, which points you to a short 2 page article about what might be the possible causes and likely outcomes of your problem. Each short article includes a flowchart with questions that help you determine whether you should apply home treatment, make an appointment with a doctor, or head for the emergency room. The articles also describe what kinds of home treatments are effective, and what you can expect if you decide to see the doctor. Naturally, this book can't substitute for proper medical care. It is quite limited, for instance, on descriptions of formal medical diagnoses- -in general, it is not a good source for patient information if your doctor says you're sick with a disease that you've never heard of. On the other hand, it does an excellent job of letting you know when you need to see a doctor, and when you don't. The language is very non-technical and easy for ordinary people to understand. My aunt, a nurse practitioner, gave me a copy of this book when I first went away to college since I would be making decisions about when to seek medical care on my own for the first time. Since then, I've used the book innumerable times, and it is one of the very few that I take with me when I move from place to place.
Rating:
Summary: You should have this book
Review: This book is a consumer's guide to staying out of the doctor's office. The authors' goals are to help ordinary people recognize when they need to seek a doctor's help, and when they can get along fine without a doctor. The book mostly focuses on symptoms and common injuries. As a reader, you say to yourself, "I have a rash," or "My daughter has a sore throat." Then you look up the symptoms in the index, which points you to a short 2 page article about what might be the possible causes and likely outcomes of your problem. Each short article includes a flowchart with questions that help you determine whether you should apply home treatment, make an appointment with a doctor, or head for the emergency room. The articles also describe what kinds of home treatments are effective, and what you can expect if you decide to see the doctor. Naturally, this book can't substitute for proper medical care. It is quite limited, for instance, on descriptions of formal medical diagnoses- -in general, it is not a good source for patient information if your doctor says you're sick with a disease that you've never heard of. On the other hand, it does an excellent job of letting you know when you need to see a doctor, and when you don't. The language is very non-technical and easy for ordinary people to understand. My aunt, a nurse practitioner, gave me a copy of this book when I first went away to college since I would be making decisions about when to seek medical care on my own for the first time. Since then, I've used the book innumerable times, and it is one of the very few that I take with me when I move from place to place.
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