The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men: From Heart Disease and Headaches to Flabby Abs and Fatigue
944
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men: From Heart Disease and Headaches to Flabby Abs and Fatigue
944Paperback(Mass Market Paperback)
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Overview
For most men, going to the doctor doesn't rank high on the fun scale. So wouldn't it be great to know how to take care of the most common health problems yourself? Here's how, as The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men is full of do-it-yourself options that are fast, effective, and approved by doctors.
This indispensable resource to good health and peak fitness presents the best and latest medical advice from more than 400 doctors on how to deal with the aches, pains, ailments, problems, and just plain hassles that men face every day. Out of the 2,000 tips in this easy-to-use volume not one requires a prescription or a doctor's visit. And many won't cost you a dime. So whether it's a serious problem such as angina or a minor annoyance such as five o'clock shadow, you'll find the answers inside:
Allergies
Anxiety
Back Pain
Baldness
Commuter Strain
Congestion
Constipation
Dandruff
Diabetes
Flatulence
Frequent Urination
Hangover
High Cholesterol
Impotence
Jock Itch
Kidney Stones
Midlife Crisis
Nausea
Nosebleed
Performance Anxiety
Razor Burn And Cuts
Shinsplints
Sex Addiction
Stress
Toothaches
Ulcers
Warts
And much more!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780553582345 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Random House Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 10/03/2000 |
| Pages: | 944 |
| Product dimensions: | 4.19(w) x 6.89(h) x 1.52(d) |
About the Author
— Mike Lafavore, former editor in chief, Men's Health magazine
Read an Excerpt
Who Needs a Doctor?
The book you hold in your hands will help you take care of scores of health problems by yourself. Use it well, and you'll gain as much personal control over your health and healing as you could possibly ask for. So does that mean that you'll never have to see the inside of a doctor's office again? Absolutely not.
Every man needs a doctor. And the savvy medical consumer puts at least as much effort into choosing a doctor he can trust and developing a professional relationship with his physician as he does picking an auto mechanic, accountant, lawyer, or investment broker. The idea is essentially the same: When problems come up that you can easily and safely handle, you take care of them. But when problems emerge that require a trained professional, you have a trusted expert ready and waiting to help.
This book is primarily for dealing with those problems for which a doctor might not be needed. But just so there is no confusion, we'll reiterate our point: Every man needs a good doctor, no matter how much he disdains the probing and questioning and undressing and waiting and paying. And to show you we mean it, we're offering right here at the beginning—before we get to the hundreds of tips and techniques that can help you feel better fast—our best wisdom on finding the perfect doctor for your particular needs.
Men and Doctors
Between the ages of 25 and 44, 63 percent of all office visits to doctors are made by women. And they have twice as much contact during the year with their doctors as men. Overall, about 7 out of 11 adults visiting a doctor are women—despite the fact that men die younger than women.
"It's a paradox," says Mack Lipkin, M.D., director of primary care at New York University in New York City. Why is it that for so many of us, a visit to a doctor is as rare as a physician making a house call? Here are a few reasons.
* We're bulletproof. "We think we're invincible," says Kenneth Goldberg, M.D., a urologist who is the founder and director of the Male Health Institute in Irving, Texas, and author of How Men Can Live As Long As Women.
* We're busy. Men are still in the workforce in greater numbers than women, says Dr. Lipkin. It's simply very difficult for guys to make the time for a visit to a doctor, he says.
* We're tough. "There's a cultural attitude that men share that they should tough it out," says Dr. Lipkin. "I think that because men engage in harder labor and more active and violent sports as they're growing up, they are used to pain and pain going away as just kind of a natural thing. You just take your lumps. There are many men from macho cultures where that is even more the case."
* We're frightened. Being poked, probed, and touched in embarrassing places is unnerving. "We're scared out of our wits," says Dr. Goldberg.
* We're skeptical. "Men may be skeptical because of their fears and past experiences with doctors," says Dr. Goldberg.
* And some men also have the attitude that if they can't fix it themselves, then it can't be helped, adds Dr. Lipkin.
Still, there are times when it is foolish and potentially deadly not to see a physician. "Any time you have a symptom that persists, you should see a doctor," Dr. Goldberg says. "It doesn't matter if it's a headache or abdominal pain. If it's there and it doesn't go away or it significantly intensifies, it's worth pursuing."
And there are some symptoms that should send you immediately to your doctor's office, say Dr. Goldberg and Dr. Lipkin. They are:
* Sudden pain at any location in your body, especially in the chest or abdomen.
* Sudden dizziness, change in vision, or headache.
* A change in bowel or urinary habits.
* Blood in urine, semen, stool, or mucus.
* Bleeding that is persistent from the rectum, chest, nose, or ears.
* Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. "Young men frequently have asthma and don't know it and can really get in trouble," says Dr. Lipkin.
* Weakness or faintness. It could signal depression, a hormonal problem, chronic fatigue syndrome, or HIV infection.
* Severe or persistent diarrhea or vomiting.
* Any suicidal, homicidal, or persistent depressive feelings.
Giving Your Doctor a Checkup
Even if you decide to ask a doc what's up, there remains the dilemma of choosing a good one. Most of us give more thought to what shirt to wear today than selecting a doctor. Chances are that you pick your doctor out of the Yellow Pages, along with the plumber and lawn mower repairman. Those guys, however, are unlikely to physically harm you if they make a mistake. A doctor might. So how do you pick a good one?
Go when you're well. If you wait until you're sick to call a doctor, you probably won't have the time or desire to check out his credentials. And if he's not a good doctor, this is a bad time to find out. Instead, schedule an appointment for a routine checkup or some other mundane medical matter. "It's the same thing as when you have a car," Dr. Lipkin says. "When your car breaks down, if the mechanic knows you and you have a history together, you're going to get much better attention when you need him—especially if you need the car fixed the same day—than if you've never met him before and you drive in cold."
Check the doctor's affiliations. Your odds of getting a good doctor improve if he is associated with a medical center or a teaching institution, says Dr. Lipkin. That's because they have a rigorous screening process whereby only the physicians most respected by their peers are added to the staff. And a doctor who also teaches is asked many questions by bright students, requiring him to keep informed of new developments in medicine, Dr. Lipkin says.
Ask friends and colleagues. Word of mouth can be an effective means of locating a doctor that you will like if you respect the judgment of the people recommending him, says Dr. Lipkin. Or if you know somebody who was seriously ill, ask if he was treated by any physicians that he particularly admired.