Guide to Your Child's Symptoms by the American Academy of Pediatrics:: The Official, Complete Home Reference, Birth Through Adolescence
By Donald Schiff M.D. F.A.
When an infant or small child is ill, it is often very difficult for a parent to understand or diagnose the nature of the problem. Since babies can't articulate what ails them, in most cases all a parent has to go on is the symptom that the child exhibits.
It would be nice to have pediatricians at your beck and call for every cough and wheeze, but the era of house visits is past. When the weather's raw and your child's in pain, start with your reference shelf. Donald Schiff and Steven Shelov have arranged the contents of the Guide to Your Child's Symptoms by the child's age: you'll find symptom guides from baby's colic, diarrhea, and spitting up to your adolescent's anxiety, depression, and skin problems. For each symptom, there's a description of usual causes, a chart of questions to consider, and what action to take. There's also an illustrated "First-Aid Manual." Guide to Your Child's Symptoms is a first-rate resource that explains when bed rest will do and when to get on the phone to your pediatrician.
From Library Journal
With a planned 100,000-copy first printing, this will help many parents find the answer to "What's ailing Junior?"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
When an infant or small child is ill, it is often very difficult for a parent to understand or diagnose the nature of the problem. Since babies can't articulate what ails them, in most cases all a parent has to go on is the symptom that the child exhibits.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's Symptoms has been prepared by a team of the country's best pediatricians to enable a parent to quickly identify a symptom, learn its possible cause, and determine how best to proceed, whether it's taking action at home or calling the pediatrician immediately. The symptoms are listed alphabetically, and the text and illustrations that accompany each one are arranged in easy-to-follow charts. Unlike most child-care and parenting books, which are dense and text-heavy, this book lets a parent quickly assess the problem and decide what needs to be done for the child. The first of the book covers the 100 or so most common symptoms in A-Z format. The second part is an illustrated first-aid manual.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is the most respected authority on child health in America, and the Guide to Your Child's Symptoms is an essential family reference that belongs in every household.
Credible, sound, helpful
Don't let some of the negative reviews that appear here put you off -- this is an excellent resource. Essentially the book lets you diagnose what your child might have and then lets you know whether you a) need to take your child in to the doc or b) you should relax. Anybody who expects more out of a book like this is dreaming. As for organization -- I recommend using the index in the back of the book. Helps you find things fast. My wife and I swear by this book; it is something we give any friends or families who have children for the first time. Highly recommended.
Wonderful Reference!
I can't tell you how many times I have referenced this book in the middle of the night. It has been a tremendous source of comfort. I like the reference format with the grid of symptoms. The only thing that could make this better would be pictures of what rashes (like the trademark bullseye of a Lyme's disease-infected tick bite or a chicken pox mark) look like.
Ideal for its purpose
Let me start by stating clearly that this is not a book of home remedies for children's illnesses. If that's what you're looking for, you will be disappointed with this book. If, however, you are looking for a book to tell you whether a certain set of symptoms requires no treatment, a morning call to the doctor or a midnight trip to the hospital, you won't be disappointed. This basic format of the book is simple. For each condition (say, spitting up), there is a page or so of general information. Then, there's a chart of possible symptoms (ie, Does your child spit up excessively when played with after nursing?), what the cause could be (ie, If yes, the cause could be overstimulation) and what kind of action should be taken (ie, let the baby rest quietly after nursing). Basically, I think of this as my "Should I worry?" book. When I'm not sure whether I need to call the doctor or not, I pull out this reference and find out. A definite "must" for the bookshelf of any parent. Incidentally, this book comes in both hardcover and softcover. Based on some reviews that complained about the small typeface in the softcover, I bought a used hardcover in perfect condition for less than what was being charged for the softcover version - there seem to be a lot of hardcovers for sale in good condition pretty cheaply through Amazon, so I'd check that out before buying a softcover.
