I have had the AMA Encylclopedia of Medicine for about 10 years now, and love how it combines detailed explanations with pictures. However, that book is getting old and I can't find evidence that they have revised/updated it. So I was looking for a replacement for that AMA book, when I tried the John Hopkins book here. As one of the other reviewers stated, I was disappointed with the lists of possible syndromes accounted for by various symptoms. Some very common maladies were missing! My husband and I have some of the more ordinary, run of the mill maladies, and only about half were listed! I am returning the book and looking more closely at the reviews and descriptions before I choose another book. I want a book that covers more syndromes, has better pictures (this one has very few), and is written for the educated reader (like the AMA encyclopedia was). This was a case where I bought the book by name brand (John Hopkins) without looking more carefully into what I was getting. I was disappointed.

This book is a good reference for looking up symtoms but one shouldn't use it as their only source for information regarding the remedies. I must disagree that using a wrist-support while typing should be used to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). All that will do is simply prolong and worsen the condition. In summary, by restricting the movement of the wrist while typing you are allowing muscles in a small area to be overused one way while allowing other muscles to relax.

The book is divided into two sections: symtoms and disorders. The first half of the book on symtoms is a three column table of Associated Symtoms, Possible Diagnosis and Distinguishing Features. The second and last half of the book on disorders gives overviews on each disorder. The information is far from replete but does a good job at summarizing the disorders into relatively simple terms.

The reviewers who posted negative reviews seemed to have missed the point of this book, that it is SPECIALLY WRITTEN and DESIGNED FOR people OVER 50. So common ailments are not going to be in this book; I would recommend The Complete Home Wellness Handbook for the reader under 50. For people over the age of 50, or people who are acting as caregivers for people over 50, this is a terrific book everyone should have in the house.