Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
548 Family Practice—an international journal both their relationship with each other and those with whom they come into contact. If the longed-for child finally arrives, the stress does not go away but continues to impinge on their coping abilities and their reactions to each other and to the baby. Beth Cooper-Hilbert provides a comprehensive guidebook through all the emotional stages of infertility. Her relaxed style makes for easy reading of the case examples in which couples describe their feelings and reactions to their predicament. For the lay reader, the book starts with a brief overview of the medical aspects of infertility. A description follows this of the normal development of a relationship and how this can be stalled and traumatized by infertility. The third chapter is perhaps the most useful for anyone involved in counselling infertile couples. It describes in detail the different stages the couple goes through before they reach emotional healing, followed by a careful account of how a psychotherapeutic intervention can guide and help them. At each of those stages, psychotherapy has some helpful questions and tasks for the therapist to work on with the couple, enabling them to move past the current crisis and find life meaningful and productive again. The book goes on to describe the impact of gender, religion and culture, and it has a chapter using genograms to explore issues in relationships. The penultimate chapter deals with those involuntarily childless but not necessarily infertile: the single, and lesbian and homosexual couples. The book closes with a chapter on moral, ethical, religious and legal aspects. The secrecy component of donor insemination, egg and embryo donation and the problems associated with surrogacy are discussed. The final section is devoted to genetic engineering, emphasizing the positive aspects and urging all to keep abreast with research and show vigilance to ensure that such techniques promote health and well-being. Although some GPs might find this book somewhat long it provides easy reading and gives excellent insight into couples’ feelings as they go through the infertility nightmare. Chapter three is the highlight of the book and worth studying in detail, its helpful summaries and lists providing useful reference material. PATRICIA PROSSER GP in Witney A colour handbook of occupational dermatology. JSC English (ed.). (192 pages, £29.95. Hardback £48.00.) Manson Publishing Ltd, 1998. ISBN 1-874545-91-X, Hardback 1-874545-58-8. The biggest anxiety for new entrants to the speciality of Occupational Medicine is with dealing with an occupational dermatological condition. Neither the complexity of Health and Safety legislation nor the potential difficulties of communicating medical opinions to management in an ethical manner are as challenging. Without adequate training, they might be expected to diagnose the condition and suggest appropriate lines of treatment, or some effective preventive procedures! The fears are real, for as is correctly pointed out by the authors, skin conditions take second place only to musculoskeletal problems, in the league table of causes of ill health in the workplace. This book is likely to help new entrants and old hands alike. It is slightly larger than A5, softbound, with 186 pages of text interspersed with over 300 colour photographs, the majority of which are well reproduced and of high information content. Twelve chapters cover a diverse range of workplace sensitizers and I was pleased to see that it is not restricted to the traditional chrome nickel and cutting oil type of examples. The authors reach far and wide into almost every occupation citing such examples as garlic dermatitis in a chef, dermatitis of the hands from dough contact in a pizza baker, contact dermatitis in beauticians handling false nails made of acrylic monomer and acne mechanica in a violinist. They also give detailed descriptions of the various occupational skin pigmentations and give a satisfactory outline of dermatitis arising from contact with plants and wood. There is a well-illustrated chapter on occupational skin cancers. The chapter on the differential diagnosis of hand eczema is detailed and practical and will be of use to the GP or practising occupational physician on an almost daily basis. This is a good book. It is essential reading for those who wish to be dermatologically wellinformed. GWILYM HUGHES Consultant Occupational Physician ABC of allergies. SR Durham (ed.). (74 pages, £14.95.) BMJ Publishing Group, 1998. ISBN 0-7279-1236-4. Allergy is a complex mechanism involving many organ systems in the human body. Most textbooks describe the mechanism extensively, followed by a brief description of the possible manifestations of allergy. This book is different. Chapters about mechanisms, epidemiology and diagnosis are followed by chapters about 12 clinical manifestations of allergy. These include summer hay fever, perennial rhinitis, allergic eye disease, asthma and allergy, occupational asthma and the avoidance of exposure to indoor allergens, allergic manifestations on the skin, allergic reactions to food and drugs, venom allergy and anaphylaxis. Each chapter provides a rational basis for specific treatment, but the common denominators in allergy have not been forgotten. These are discussed in Chapters three and four. Chapter three is about the backgrounds of diagnosing allergy and describes characteristics of both in vivo and in vitro tests. The importance of the patient’s