Health experts agree that Medline, a government health website, is a worthwhile resource for both doctors and patients. This easy-to-navigate site offers a comprehensive compilation of sites, articles and resources that covers more than 750 medical conditions. Some web browsers are just curious, wondering if they have a particular ailment, while others are seeking solutions and new research regarding an existing condition. In addition to the MayoClinic and WebMD, the MedlinePlus site is a valuable resource.
Medline brings lots of unique functions to enhance your understanding and enrich your life. For instance, if you are about to undergo a colonoscopy or hip replacement surgery, a biopsy, a laparoscopy, LASIK eye surgery or another procedure, then you can watch an interactive tutorial that will show you what will be done and alleviate some of the mystery and anxiety. Another resource you may find very useful is the “Health Check Tools” page, which gives you educational quizzes about breast cancer, arthritis or alcoholism, a day by day pregnancy calender as well as an “alcohol calorie intake counter,” a mental health screening quiz, a cancer risk questionnaire, a diabetic “rate your plate” assessment, a target heart rate calculator, discount vitamin supplements info, an interactive menu planner and a risk assessment tool for coronary heart disease. Medline is set up to accommodate all different types of people. Speak Spanish? No problem, as there is a version en Espanol, as well as forty other languages! Is your eye sight failing? Don’t worry, there is a version, located on the lower right-hand corner of the “Health Topics” page, which offers an easier to view page.
In the “News” section of Medline, you can read about all the latest research, opinions by health experts and studies from Health Day and Reuters news sources. You can read about: relationship violence that’s on the rise with college students, a steroidal nasal spray that alleviates sleep apnea in children, fertility problems in men past 40, using a freeze-dried formula to prevent the spread of HIV from mother to child, how omega-3 guards against stroke, or about a recent study that shows how Ritalin reacts in the brain. There are a variety of topics that will satiate your unquenchable need for information. You can browse the main page for various topics or just look up your particular issue and click on the “Research tab” for a narrower focus.
As the G.I. Joes said, “Knowing is half the battle.” The more educated you are, the better chance you will have at living efficiently. No one wants to live out the last 20 years of life stuck in a wheelchair with limited mobility. We want to be looking great and feeling great for as long as possible! Whether you’re looking for research to give you renewed optimism for a chronic disease or information on a medical procedure/medication you’ve been prescribed, Medline is a gold mine of medical information, paid for by your tax dollars. So why not take a look and get your money’s worth? Visit Medline at www.Nlm.Nih.gov.
