Alzrius
The EN World kitten
A new year means new books!
I’ll start us off with a copy of Drs. Morris Weiss and W. Paul McKinney’s folio from the year 2000 that I very recently polished off, The Traveler’s Vest Pocket Medical Guide.
I picked this up a while back for a family member who was contemplating doing some traveling, but when their plans fell through, I ended up keeping it. I came across it the other day and, on a whim, put it into my reading pile. I figured that, while I’m not planning on visiting any foreign countries in the near future, it was still good to peruse just to know the information.
…although, being 7.5” tall and 5.5” wide, this is not a “vest pocket” book by any measure. 1/5 stars, very disappointed.
All joking aside, this is actually a very useful guide. While it’s sixty pages long, the text is quite often in large print, and has comparatively few words per page, meaning that you can polish this off in a matter of minutes. I’d say that you can do so between when you take your seat on the plane and when it takes off, which is true, but it’s by far better to read it before embarking on your trip.
That’s because the first part of the book deals with preparatory advice, including how to research potential health hazards for the country you’re visiting, what medicines to take with you, and other items that it’s usually good to have. There’s also a section on basic rules to follow when it comes to what food and drink to (not) consume; I’ll admit, I was surprised to find that dry bread was one of the safest of local fares, and that vitamin deficiencies aren’t really a major cause for concern, given how long they typically take to develop.
After that comes a handy section where it lists a medical issue that you might be having (from rashes to diarrhea to head injuries and quite a few more), giving simple flowcharts guiding you through treating them. Though it’s worth mentioning that a considerable number of these end with “seek medical attention (immediately).”
The book closes out by raising awareness of the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers, which I really wish had the word “The” as part of their organization’s formal title, since then its acronym would be T.I.A.M.A.T., although I can see that not being quite as reassuring as that organization would probably like. Still, that’s a worthwhile group to know about, and the next time I travel abroad I’ll definitely give them a look!
I’ll start us off with a copy of Drs. Morris Weiss and W. Paul McKinney’s folio from the year 2000 that I very recently polished off, The Traveler’s Vest Pocket Medical Guide.
I picked this up a while back for a family member who was contemplating doing some traveling, but when their plans fell through, I ended up keeping it. I came across it the other day and, on a whim, put it into my reading pile. I figured that, while I’m not planning on visiting any foreign countries in the near future, it was still good to peruse just to know the information.
…although, being 7.5” tall and 5.5” wide, this is not a “vest pocket” book by any measure. 1/5 stars, very disappointed.
All joking aside, this is actually a very useful guide. While it’s sixty pages long, the text is quite often in large print, and has comparatively few words per page, meaning that you can polish this off in a matter of minutes. I’d say that you can do so between when you take your seat on the plane and when it takes off, which is true, but it’s by far better to read it before embarking on your trip.
That’s because the first part of the book deals with preparatory advice, including how to research potential health hazards for the country you’re visiting, what medicines to take with you, and other items that it’s usually good to have. There’s also a section on basic rules to follow when it comes to what food and drink to (not) consume; I’ll admit, I was surprised to find that dry bread was one of the safest of local fares, and that vitamin deficiencies aren’t really a major cause for concern, given how long they typically take to develop.
After that comes a handy section where it lists a medical issue that you might be having (from rashes to diarrhea to head injuries and quite a few more), giving simple flowcharts guiding you through treating them. Though it’s worth mentioning that a considerable number of these end with “seek medical attention (immediately).”
The book closes out by raising awareness of the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers, which I really wish had the word “The” as part of their organization’s formal title, since then its acronym would be T.I.A.M.A.T., although I can see that not being quite as reassuring as that organization would probably like. Still, that’s a worthwhile group to know about, and the next time I travel abroad I’ll definitely give them a look!
