Don't wait until it's too late to head for the emergency room. A new book by Dr. Neil Shulman, better known as Doc Hollywood, provides life-saving medical tips.
"You Body's Red Light Warning Signals" has an easy to use symptom guide to help the lay user identify the body's danger signs. Doctors hope the 356-page book will save lives by getting people to seek medical help faster.
Shulman, associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, says, "It's amazing how many people don't seek help in a real emergency because they're in denial or because they fear the worst."
For example, if you have chest pain and think you are having a heart attack, call 911 and chew one regular, full-strength aspirin. If you have severely stiff neck, headache and fever, you could have meningitis. And the book advises shortness of breath following a leg injury could point to a blood clot in the lung.
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