(no subject)

[elainegrey]

Dear reference librarians (or any of ya'll),

I am tired of my lousy search efforts for medical information. I'm looking for a resource that is designed for a college reading level of non experts. I'd like to be able to search by patent and generic medical names and find references that describe the physical actions of drugs in general (What are proton blockers and how do the work? H1 blockers? H2 blockers?) and in specific (Claritin cause these side effects, Don't take Allegra with antacids with a [something] base).

Medline? PubMed? Those seem to mostly be for medical articles. Medline Plus seems adequate for the specific information. Is there anything else to check out?

My medical provider's stuff is written at too basic a level. I can find the information i'm looking for but then there's the evaluation of whether it's quack content or not that takes time.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[threeringedmoon]

Have you looked at Physician's Desk Reference? It has been a while since I've referred to one, but I think it has most of this.

[zyzyly]

If you are just looking for drug information, pick up a drug reference book at the book store--they are usually with the medical and nursing books.

If you want something broader, that explains disease states and such, then check out the Merck online site--I use this a lot to research things on the fly.

http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/index.html

[elainegrey]

Thanks for this link. I think it's just the right level of information to help me understand my doctor's understanding of me (like why she suggested H2 blockers when i get itchy).

Perfect!