NOTES FROM THE INFORMATION DESK
clipart of mouse behind a reference desk
Consumer Health Web Links

The following links are in addition to those listed on our Web Sites Page under the heading
Health”.

These are all free internet resources. Health Reference Center Academic (listed below under “Other General Sites”) is a proprietary database which ordinarily is not free, but your library card number is your password for free access.

We also have print resources available in the library, both circulating and Reference (in-library use only). And last but not least, don’t hesitate to take advantage of the human resources available at the Information Services Desk upstairs, either to help you use any of these sites or to help you find more information. Remember—we’re here to help!

Quick and to the Point
Dictionary
Medical Encyclopedia
Human Anatomy Online

Good Places to Start
FamilyDoctor - Health information for the whole family from the American Academy of Family Physicians

Other General Sites
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Health Reference Center Academic

Clinical Trials -
National Library of Medicine's searchable database of clinical trials in which consumers may wish to participate.
CenterWatch Clinical Trials Listing Service

eMedicine Consumer Health
User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web

Health News
Health Reference Center Academic
Full text of journals, plus a wide variety of personal health information sources. You will need your library card number to access this database from home.
Mayo Clinic        
Med Help International – Online health community, with Doctor-to-Patient forums and Patient-to-Patient forums   
MedicineNet – part of the WebMD Network

Organizations
National Library of Medicine's online directory of health organizations by topic

Local Health Services and Organizations
Go Local Massachusetts—Listing of health services available in Hampden County

Complementary  and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
The Alternative Medicine HomePage
Herbs, Botanicals and Other Products
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Drug Information
DailyMed - includes FDA approved labels (package inserts)
DrugDigest - pharmaceuticals, interactions and herbals—includes photographs of drugs      
Drugs.com – more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)   
Herbs, Botanicals and Other Products
RxList – The Internet Drug Index (advanced search allows searching by drug name, keyword, imprint code, NDC and medical terminology)

Specific Diseases and Conditions

Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s Association    
Alzheimer’s Disease
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s

Asthma and Allergy
American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology
American Lung Association—lung diseases, tobacco control, air quality, asthma, allergy       
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America  

Dentistry
American Dental Association      

Diabetes
American Diabetes Association   
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

Digestive Diseases
MedlinePlus

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Eye Diseases and Conditions
Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Macular Degeneration
National Eye Institute

Genetic conditions
Genetics Home Reference

Heart Disease
American Heart Association         
National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute      
Chest Pain         
Heart Attack (Also called: MI, Myocardial infarction)
Heart Diseases
Heart Failure
Heart Surgery

Hip or Knee Replacement
Hip Replacement

Knee Replacement
Joint Replacement     

HIV/Aids
Aids Action Committee of Massachusetts
AidsInfo 
Treatment, Prevention, and Policy   
Kidney Failure

Lung Diseases
American Lung Association 
National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute          

Mental Illness
Mental Health Disorders
Psychotic Disorders (Severe mental illness)

MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)

Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Stroke Association

Orthopedics
Your Orthopaedic Connection—Injury prevention, osteoarthritis, sports and exercise, joint replacement and tumors      

Pain
American Pain Foundation           
MedlinePlus
National Pain Foundation

Pregnancy and Childbirth
American Pregnancy Association
Babycenter        
BabyZone          
Genetics/Birth Defects
Postpartum Depression
Pregnancy        
Premature Babies
Prenatal Care, Labor and Delivery, and Postpartum Care
Staying Healthy During Pregnancy

Skin and Nail Conditions
American Academy of Dermatology 

Sleep Disorders

Specific Groups

Caregivers
The Family Caregiver Alliance     
Health and Age
Easy to Read (Written for audiences who have difficulty reading or understanding information)

Foreign Language Health Sites
Spanish
Healthfinder
Su guía a la información confiable de la salud, patrocinada por la Oficina de Prevención de Enfermedades y Promoción de la Salud
MedlinePlus
Información de Salud para Usted  
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service has links to health information in these languages:
Arabic, Bengali, French, Gujarati, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Somali, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu.

Men
Men’s Health Topics
Men’s Health Center
Men’s Health
Prostate
UrologyHealth.org    

Parenting and Kids
KidsHealth— “doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence”     
Dr. Green 
American Academy of Pediatrics

Seniors
National Institutes of Health's Senior Health—for seniors and their caregivers. You can adjust text size, contrast, sound, and print choices easily.            
The American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging
Health and Age                         
Mayo Clinic Senior Health Center
MEDLINEplus Seniors’ Health Issues

Women’s
Office of Women’ Health         
Women’s Health Information  
MedlinePlus      

Staying Healthy
HazMap— Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases
Health Check Tools—Use these quizzes, calculators, self-assessments and decision guides to check your knowledge and health status.

National Library of Medicine's Tox Town --web resource to help consumers understand toxins in their environment  
ToxMap— visually explore data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Superfund Program. Clickable map, or search by zip code, city, state, chemical name

Household Products Database—“ What's under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room?”

And let’s not forget our Pets!
American Veterinary Medicine Association   
AltVetweb (CAM)       
Animal Acupuncture   
Ask My Vet         
Cancer     
Diabetes   
Diseases transmitted between humans and animals (Zoonoses)  ????
CDC Healthy Pets Healthy People
Exotic Pets        
Healthy Pet       
Pet Diets  
Pet Education    
Pet Health         
Pet Health Topics (Dogs and Cats)
Pocket Pets and People
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
SPCA                  
Veterinary Partner    
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

Cats 
Cornell Feline Health Center

The Cat Fanciers' Associations, Inc.

Poison
Cornell University Poisonous Plants Informational Database
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center

 

These links have been carefully selected to help you become an informed health care consumer able to make the most of any consultation with your health care provider, who has an understanding of your unique circumstances and the medical expertise
necessary to recommend a course of treatment.
They are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical care. Ask ME 3  is a web site that will help you have better communication with your health care provider.

[back]

Updated 02/12/08