All to many of us are guilty of taking medications prescribed for someone else. After all it is a friend trying to help out when you are ill. Offering and giving you what they were prescribed for the same or similar problem does not consider your personal medical background (other conditions, allergies, interactions with other medication you may be taking).

Is “Take this’ an economic move or a deadly action? Listen Up!

“Doc’s First Aid Guide”

“Simple, straight, and to-the-point, “Doc’s First Aid Guide” by Kathleen A. Handal, MD, is an easy-to-use reference book that you could keep handy in your glove compartment, a kitchen drawer, or your office desk drawer. She emphasizes that the steps taken during the first few minutes of a medical emergency situation are critical and suggests that people read this book BEFORE they need it. I think she is right. I am such a geek, I even read my car owner’s manual from cover to cover before driving the car.

The formatting is logical and makes it very easy to instantly find the information you need for the type of emergency situation that you are experiencing. After the initial general information section, Dr. Handal provides the ABC’s of CPR, which everyone should learn how to administer, and then goes into the First Aid situations. I am so glad that you presented the information in alphabetical order as it makes it much easier to locate just what you need. The First Aid section covered topics from Allergic Reaction to Burns to Choking to Heat Exposure to Unconsciousness with dozens of topics in between.

Last but not least, she includes emergency first-aid techniques, a first aid kit checklist, and an emergency information info sheet. There are good diagrams included throughout the guide that show the reader how to perform the first aid being described. I appreciate how she included both the “What To Do” boxes as well as the “Do Not” icons to help guide the reader in an emergency.”