Week 7 Consumer Health Resources: Health Source Consumer Edition and Medline Plus

I must say I found this week’s assignment much more interesting!!!  Actually, I found myself exploring more than I needed too!!! 

In Health Source I discovered many, many magazines and journals that covered a wide array of health topics.  The interface was easy as it is the same as the other Ebsco databases we have been using.  I searched for high cholesterol.  When sorting for the most current publication, I located an article titled, The Stinking Rose, and was published November 2012, in Better Nutrition.  It was very easy to understand and discussed information that linked eating garlic or taking garlic supplements to reduce cholesterol levels.  It even included recipes (that I printed)!

From there I ventured to Medline Plus where I found myself absorbed in all it had to offer.  I loved the eye catching interface and found it very fun to use.  I particularly liked the fact you had the Senior, Men, Women, and Children tabs to quickly get to issues that were geared to you.  The Health News in the column to the right had three articles listed, For Cholesterol Tests, Fasting May Not Be Required (now wouldn’t THAT be a plus J), Scientists Find Gene Differences In Non-Smokers With Lung Cancer, and Spinal Steroid Shots May Have Little Effect on Sciatica. There was also a handy More Health News Link to continue searching for more current health news.  To the left was Medical Dictionary where you could simply type in the term for the definition and a Popular Search box which was done in the form of a Wordle included aspirin, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, pneumonia, prednisone, and shingles.

As you may have guessed, I suffer from having high cholesterol.  Two years ago, my results of a fasting blood work showed my cholesterol level at 307 and came with a prescription for Lipitor.  I learned it was a statin drug that is used, not only to decrease the amount of cholesterol found in your blood but also, to decrease the risk of heart attacks.  There was a whole host if information from how to use it, why it is used, precautions to follow and special dietary instructions, side effects, how to store it, what to do in the event of an overdose and other pertinent information related to its consumption.

This database seemed to have more to offer than Health Source.  I again plugged in high Cholesterol.  Not only was there the ability refine my search better, but the were great graphs and very informative videos to watch.  There were 1, 673 resources and 57 videos!  I am almost ashamed to say, I really did not understand the whole cholesterol issue well.  I chose the video Managing Cholesterol by X-Plain Patient Education. The material was very clear to help someone understand what cholesterol is and how to control levels.  There was audio which read the displayed text (which is perfect for all learning styles) and nice animated graphics.  The topics consisted of causes, diagnosis, treatment options, diets, medications, and other important information.  There were helpful hints to remember the difference between LDL and HDL and quizzes after each screen that forced you to return and review before you could proceed, to ensure you knew the material.  Then to be sure you got it, at the end was a Test You Knowledge test.

I have such a better understanding that I decided I’d better deal with the third friendly reminder that I had received from my doctor and have scheduled an appointment to get my fasting blood work on Tuesday!!!