DALLAS (BP)--While watching reruns of "Little House on the Prairie" one Saturday, I was once again reminded of how far we have come with medical technology. We've gone from waiting for the doctor to make a house call to being able to locate medical information online. The Internet and self-care or medical reference books put health information at our fingertips at all times.

The bookstores are full of self-care books. I have found two in particular with easy-to-use formats that I really like: "American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, 4th Edition" and "The Merck Manual of Medical Information, 2nd Home Edition." Neither of these was written for nursing students or doctors in training. They were written for the average person to use in his or her home for emergency situations and to help individuals determine when professional medical care is necessary or when self care might be appropriate.

Information contained in these books includes:

-- Child safety.

-- Home safety.

-- Motor vehicle safety.

-- Herbal remedies and dietary supplements.

-- Visual aids (pictures) to help you with a diagnosis.

-- First aid.

-- Common screenings (for all ages).

-- Information by symptoms.

-- Information by disease, disorder or general topic.

-- Glossary.

-- Listings of generic drugs.

-- Resources for additional help (for instance, the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org).

Online health resources are also readily available. Your health plan benefit probably includes a wellness website. Many free sites such as WebMD.com or the Department of Health and Human Services' healthfinder.gov are available to anyone with Internet access.

These medical references can help you become a better health consumer and be more confident when you need to determine if a situation requires a doctor or medical facility.

Find a medical reference book that works for you and update it whenever a new edition becomes available. Keep up on medical innovations through health care websites. It's a great way to stay on top of today's high speed medical advancements and information.

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