About the Book*

The Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs: An Interactive Approach to Self-Care, first published in 1967, defines the practitioner's role in self-care.

The Handbook presents a practical problem-solving method for triaging a patient on the basis of the patient's description of signs and symptoms. It guides students and practitioners in differentiating a patient's complaint and making the appropriate treatment recommendation.

The 15th edition provides timely, comprehensive, practical, evidence-based coverage of every self-care option for self-treatable disorders—nondrug measures, nonprescription products, preventive measures, and alternative and complementary medicine. It continues to feature the characteristics that make it the best-selling reference on self-care:

• Insights from 89 academics and practitioners from multiple health care fields with expertise in nonprescription medications and devices and other self-care options
• Succinct descriptions of the typical manifestations and underlying pathophysiology of a self-treatable disorder supported by illustrations and color photographs
• Treatment sections with unparalleled information on indications, dosage and administration guidelines, and safety considerations for nonprescription medications, as well as discussion of nondrug measures, preventive measures, and complementary and alternative medicine
• The most current clinical guidelines for self-treatable disorders
• Definitive triage features: tables that differentiate signs and symptoms of disorders with similar presentations; algorithms that list exclusions for self-care and outline treatment options; cases that provide step-by-step instructions for assessment of a patient's complaint, selection of appropriate treatment, and appropriate patient counseling information
• Patient counseling boxes that summarize self-treatment options and list warning signs that signal the need for medical intervention

The Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs encompasses all the essential information for the practitioner: epidemiology, etiology and pathophysiology, signs/symptoms, complications, assessment/triage, and scientifically evaluated self-care options.

Students will find it to be the definitive source of information on self-care not found in other medical textbooks.

Clinicians will find it to be an authoritative reference on evidence-based self-care options. Sample chapter

February 2006; 283 illustrations; 1252 pages; ISBN: 978-1-58212-074-4

* Available to purchasers of the book: a fully searchable eBook of the entire textbook downloaded to your computer.