Book Review: Travellers' Health: How to Stay Healthy Abroad

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Richard Dawood (Ed.), Travellers’ Health: How to
Stay Healthy Abroad (Fifth Edition), Oxford
University Press. £16.99 (Paperback), ISBN: 978-0-
19-921416-7
This is the fifth edition of this popular travel medicine
text, and it has been reduced in to a very handy sized
‘pocket book’ edition and also has anelectronic version
available. It is a comprehensive guide to travel medicine
that has contributions from very experienced clinicians,
many of whom are also seasoned travellers. The struc-
ture of the book allows for detailed advice on maintain-
ing health whilst abroad or travelling, diseases specific
to certain modes of transmission, animal spread dis-
eases, insect borne diseases and diseases specific to the
environment and traveller behaviour. The text can at
times be somewhat detailed and may appear at first
glance daunting for the non-medical traveller. However,
on detailed reading, the information is presented in a
clear, concise and accessible format that would be
appropriate for everyone from the casual holiday maker
to the more experienced adventurer. Of particular note
are the sections on sexual health, specialist traveller
needs and preparation prior to departure.
This book would appeal to even very experienced
travellers, to those on expeditions or travelling to more
remote destinations and to those medically trained who
are responsible for organising medical care abroad or
whose role it is to advise on medical preparation before
or after travel within the general population. Whilst
perhaps a little extreme for the average package holi-
day, it would be a very useful family purchase as in the
modern world travel horizons are ever expanding. The
size and shape of the current edition make it ideal for a
backpack pocket and it would make an excellent gift
for a gap year student near you.
Neil Martin,
University Hospitals of Leicester,
Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, UK
Ran D. Anbar (Ed.), Functional Respiratory
Disorders, Humana Press. £135.00 (Hardback),
£108.00 (eBook), ISBN: 978-1-61779-856-6
Patients with functional respiratory disorders are a
diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Most pulmo-
nologists meet these disorders on a regular basis but
seldom have the opportunity to make a comprehen-
sive study of the conditions. In this respect, this vol-
ume promised to be a desirable review of the area.
The subjects covered include the psychological
aspects of asthma, dysfunctional breathing, chronic
cough and vocal cord disorder.
The book comprises 16 chapters in 345 pages. The
most important thing to recognise initially is that the
book is edited by and largely written by paediatricians,
consequently many of the chapters, although of inter-
est, are of more relevance to paediatric colleagues than
to adult physicians. This is a pity, though it does not
spoil the book, entirely for the adult pulmonologist.
The book describes the psychological basis of
some conditions and the psychological consequences
of others. Some of the historical aspects, particularly
those of asthma are of lasting interest. And covering
the chronic disorders, the book also describes some
therapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioural
therapy, biofeedback, breathing retraining, hypnosis
and speech therapy. Some other chapters are a little
outside most peoples’ experience including tradi-
tional Chinese medicine and mindful meditation. I
don’t think this book is an overall success because it
seems to try to cover adult and paediatric domains
simultaneously. Some chapters have an emphasis on
children, whereas others focus on the adult. In my
experience, the good chapters included those with
case scenarios, particularly the ones on vocal cord
dysfunction, when to refer to a mental health profes-
sional and breathing retraining. The explanation of
cognitive behavioural therapy and speech therapy
chapters were also of great interest.
Overall, this will be a valuable book for people
who are interested in the area and individual chapters
will be of relevance to either adult physicians or
paediatricians, though the book is neither in one camp
or the other and may languish on library shelves.
Michael D. L. Morgan,
University Hospitals of Leicester,
Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, UK
Greening et al. 109