With the above said it seems anticlimactic to research a commonplace health issue. No flu, diabetes or osteoporosis for this researcher. Bring on the Sirenomelia. Also bring on the Little Mermaid theme music.
I think my search technique is better suited to a variety of publications. Especially in searching for something incredibly specific. I want to see all the info I can regardless of publication and perhaps from there sort and filter the results. However, I can see the value in selecting a particular resource for specific questions. “I think I read an article in Lancet about cancer of the toe.” “Didn’t Health Care for Women International feature that Saudi Arabian physician’s new technique for uterine transplantation?” The relevance filter can be sorted by source so there is crossover in that department. It is also applicable to sort by date as in the medical world the most up-to-date information should be sought.
Can I understand the full text you ask? Let me answer by saying I was stumped halfway through the title. Gibberish. I would need a butterfly net hat to catch all the ideas flying over my head. With eight plus years of Spanish under my belt I was able to piece together some of the Latin medical terms but still was left aflutter by the jargon of science. The few articles I found were extremely doctorish. Informative but advanced in the wording department.
Over at Medline Plus the health news of the day revolved around Womb Yawning Fetuses, Teen Smoking, and Soy-Rich Diets for Menopausal Women. Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh, My! There was also an interesting piece from Reuters titled Do Drunks Have to go to the Emergency Room? To the left there were searches revolving around cholera, tuberculosis, chicken pox, shingles, and rickets. I felt a little itchy just glancing at the keywords.
My drug of choice is diet coke so I had to branch out in my discovery exercising. At random I picked Oxcarbazepine, a medication primarily used to treat seizure disorders. I was impressed with how thoroughly the drug was laid out. It was like a good conversation between the patient, his doctor and the local pharmacist. I noted the advice for what to do if a dose is missed as being important information when starting a new drug. Also pronunciation, side effects, and how to store the medication. Very informative.
A Health Topic search for “sirenomelia” yields a disappointing zero results. I tried mermaid syndrome to the same avail. I guess I deserve that for picking one of the rarest conditions. Flesh eating bacteria aka necrotizing fasciitis does give me some hits. In general Medline Plus seems more “of the people” than Health Source. It is simply formatted with easy to understand terms and lists. Of note is the Read More section to expand on the topic or topics relevant to the original search. I again say watch out with the self diagnosing as I’ve had a bruise and dizziness this week but still have all my skin. (I’m intelligent and sensical enough to know my fall of the merry-go-round accounts for both symptoms.) A general observation would be that Health Source is for scholarly research while Medline Plus is for practical knowledge. Both have their place in the library, and when combined it’s like a superpower. Stealthy ninja indeed.
Videos and Cool Tools didn’t scare me. I’ve always loved those real life ER shows, and was first in line for all the dissections in school. I watched part of a total ankle replacement, and then a robot assisted (very cool!) coronary bypass surgery. I am always a bit surprised by how violent surgeries are. The doctors (or robots) are often elbow deep inside the patient manhandling parts and pieces like they were tossing a salad. I also watched an anatomy video on breathing to make sure I was doing it right. Other “cool” things include quizzes and games. I rocked the fighting bacteria game. The NIH Senior Health Videos could be of particular interest to my library’s patrons as I live in an aging community.
All this talk of health and medicine and healthy living makes me want to eat some tofu and go for a run. And by tofu I mean Doritos. And by run I mean sit on the couch.
Happy Reading & Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment