Ask a Nurse: From Home Remedies to Hospital Care

This book's information was excellent, but the format used

made it extremely difficult to focus on the extraordinary information. The author chose to pay homage to each of the nurses for their contributions by constantly giving their names and professional initials with every contribution. This was distracting and made for difficult reading. It would have been so much better if it had been footnoted and the names listed at the end. Most of the readers of this book don't know any of the nurses mentioned (sometimes so many listings on a page that you

loose your train of thought). I hope the author will write a new edition with all the names at the end of the text.

I'm a journalist who interviewed the author for an article about the differences between the remedies doctors and nurses prescribe--and I was really impressed with the information this book contained. Ask a Nurse is a compilation of health advice from practicing nurses and nurse practitioners about all sorts of ailments you could experience and their treatments--many of which you can treat right at home. The idea behind this book is that nurses often know more and even better remedies than doctors because they're more involved in patient care. I tend to agree with this idea, especially when it comes to natural or non-prescription remedies.

But now that I'm struck down the flu, I'm appreciating this book even more, which is what has inspired me to write this review! In plain language, Ask a Nurse tells the reader the symptoms of many ailments and the signs to look for so you know when it's something serious (I wanted to know if my raw, scratchy throat could possibly be strep--the book says not likely).

Ask a Nurse then lists a variety of home remedies, over the counter remedies and prescriptions if necessary. I learned how to soothe the inflammation and pain in my throat in five different ways and how to break up the congestion in my lungs in minutes--all without using meds (I prefer to use meds as a last resort).

I woke up in a lot of pain. Now after following the advice in this book, I'm feeling a lot better. Oh, the book says I can expect a few more days of this flu (this book also tells you the difference between a cold and flu), but now the next few days will be a lot less uncomfortable.

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I was a registered nurse for years. I consider this book dangerous. Never compare the diagnostic excellence of a doctor with advice from a nurse. We are trained in routine care and comfort measures. Nurse Practitioners have prescription writing privileges, but they did not attend medical school and are not well trained in advanced medicine. The insurance companies are the ones who have been responsible for substituting Nurse Practitioners for real doctors, since their reimbursement rates are less and this means your NP can and will miss life saving treatment because the wrong diagnosis was made. Nurses are NOT diagnosticians, we did not go to medical school AND 70% of nurses do not have a 4 year college degree. The sole purpose of this book was to create an opportunity for the author to pat the back of some colleagues, in an attempt to advance nursing practice in an age of its demise. In so doing, the author has disregarded and dismissed patient safety. Do not use this book for your ailments go see the only person who is trained to treat you safely a medical doctor. In response to the comment by the journalist with a raw, sore throat not only could it have been strep, it could have been cancer.

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