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Comments, suggestions, and questions for the author and maintainer of
this site should be sent via email to Dr. Francis V. Adams at francisva@adamsmd.com
 The Asthma Sourcebook
The Asthma Sourcebook by Francis V. Adams, M.D. is a complete guide to making
sure that asthmatics have the information that they need to breath easy and live
active, normal lives. A third edition of The Asthma Sourcebook has just been
published by McGraw-Hill Publishing and is available in softcover ($16.95). This
new edition includes the most recent advances in medications and delivery
systems with updating of nearly all chapters including breakthroughs in
diagnosis (Niox diagnostic test), treatment (Xolair), alternative medicine, and
expected future advances. A revised and expanded Appendix lists extensive
Internet resources.
It may be purchased through most bookstores but may also be ordered directly
from McGraw-Hill online or at 1-800-722-4729.
If you or someone you know has asthma, this book is a
must!
Asthma is a common disease that affects nearly 15 percent of the population
in the United States, as many as 21 million Americans, and more than three
hundred million people worldwide. After a long period of steady increase, asthma
rates declined from 1997 to 1999, but rates in 2000 and 2001 indicate a rising
trend. Increased exposure to pollutants, both indoors and out, is one of the
leading factors in this disturbing trend. The greatest increase in asthma
between 1997 and 2001 has been in children five to seventeen years of age. In
2000, 4,487 people died of asthma. Tragically, these fatalities could be avoided
with proper patient education. The Asthma Sourcebook is a complete guide to
making sure that asthmatics have the information that they need to breath easy
and live active, normal lives.
Starting with the normal functions of the lung, Dr. Francis Adams shows how,
during an asthma attack, the lungs passages begin to narrow and limit the amount
of oxygen that can be inhaled. These asthma attacks can be triggered by
allergies, pollutants, exercise, and cold air. If someone suspects that asthma
may be their problem, there is a list of symptoms to help determine if further
testing is necessary.
 Testing takes many forms including x-rays, sputum examination,
pulmonary function testing, and allergy testing. The sooner a diagnosis can be
made the sooner the asthma sufferer can take steps toward effective treatment.
The most important step is how to determine when an attack is imminent, this can
ensure that steps can be taken to prevent escalation. How to use a peak flow
meter and other self diagnostics are explained so patients can effectively use
their treatment. The Asthma Sourcebook makes sense out of the confusing array of
pharmaceuticals and the means of delivering them. There is information on the
newest short-acting Beta-agonist, Xopenex, the new corticosteroids sprays QVAR
and Asmanex, and the newest addition to treatment, an IgE monoclonal antibody
blocker, Xolair. Delivery systems are covered as well, including nebulizers, new
propellants, dry powders, and other types of inhalers that may be used in the
future.
Asthma can affect every aspect of a sufferers health. Dr. Adams explains the
special considerations asthmatics need to make when considering their jobs,
their exercise regimen, or their pregnancies. There is also extensive
information on the future of asthma treatment, new theories, and possible
treatment choices.
Fatal asthma attacks are 100% preventable; the asthmatic's knowledge and
participation in the ongoing treatment and maintenance program can literally
mean the difference between life and death. The Asthma Sourcebook is for every
person who has asthma or knows someone who does. It helps to identify the common
and unforeseen problems, explains the various treatments, and delivery systems,
and shows people with asthma how to participate effectively in dealing with
their condition. Discomfort is unavoidable but treatable; fatalities are
completely avoidable. As long as asthma suffers take proper measures they can
insure that the effects of their problem are minimal and enjoy an active worry
free life.
The Breathing Disorders Sourcebook
 Breathing is essential for life. Breathing disorders are
responsible for one in seven deaths in the United States. Lung disease is the
third leading cause of death in this country. While the death rate from the
number one and two causes, heart disease and cancer has decreased, the death
rate for lung disease has increased. Between 1979 and 1994 the death rate due to
lung disease increased by nearly 19%.
The Breathing Disorders Sourcebook is a comprehensive guide to the major lung
diseases that are increasing worldwide. Dr. Francis Adams begins with a
description of how we breathe and what may go wrong. The most disturbing symptom
of lung disease, shortness of breath or air hunger, is discussed in Chapter 2.
In the same chapter, Dr. Adams describes how the patient with symptoms of lung
disease should be evaluated.
Diseases of the air passages including rhinitis, sleep apnea, asthma,
COPD, emphysema, bronchitis, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, and lung
cancer are discussed in Chapter 3. For each disease, Dr. Adams
describes the signs and symptoms, physical, x-ray, and laboratory findings and
the latest treatments.
In Chapter 4, diseases that affect the air sacs of the lung are described.
These include interstitial lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis,
sarcoidosis, and kyphoscoliosis. Disorders of the lung's blood vessels,
such as pulmonary emboli and primary pulmonary hypertension,
are also discussed.
The Breathing Disorders Sourcebook also focuses on how patients with lung
disorders may help themselves. In a chapter entitled, "Pulmonary
Rehabilitation", Dr. Adams provides vital information on the proper diet for
patients with lung disorders as well as specific exercises that may be used to
allay anxiety and shortness of breath. These important lifestyle changes may be
used by anyone, not just individuals with lung disease. In an extensive
Appendix, a comprehensive list of resources are given including helpful Internet
sites that provide more information.
This book is the product of patient feedback that Dr. Adams received after
the publication of The Asthma Sourcebook. It provides up-to-date information on
lung disorders with the goal of improving patient education. Family members of
individuals with lung disease may find this book especially helpful. Too often,
we take our breathing for granted. Remember, breath is life.
Healing Through Empathy
 Physicians have been known as healers long
before they could provide cures for common ailments, but the art of healing is
rarely found in the current era of managed care and five-minute office visits.
Patients cry out for a physician who “cares,” someone who will take the time to
listen to their complaints. While the science of medicine continues to make
breakthroughs, medicine appears to many to have lost its humanity.
Physicians have long been taught to “not get emotionally involved” with their
patients. This has often produced detached physicians who appear cold and
unfeeling to their patients. In Healing Through Empathy, Dr. Francis Adams
illustrates the vital importance of the doctor patient relationship through
seven of his patients’ histories. In these life stories Dr. Adams describes the
role of empathy in this vital relationship and illustrates how a physician’s
emotional response to his patient’s illness may educate him rather than blur his
thinking. Empathy is more than sympathy for another’s pain and suffering. It is
the ability to visualize mental images and to instantly recognize mood changes.
Dr. Adams offers suggestions for choosing a physician, and challenges
physicians and managed care institutions to restore the balance between
technology and the art of medicine. An Appendix provides resources for finding
the best physician and learning more about medical topics touched on in this
book.
TO PURCHASE ANY OF DR. ADAMS' BOOKS, click on one of
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