Main description:

Real-life agromedical discoveries previously only available in scientific journals and books This entertaining and enlightening collection of true-life agromedical "detective stories" demonstrates innovative problem-solving in places as diverse as a desert farm in the Nile delta and a sharecropper's cabin in South Carolina. From a schoolyard outbreak of pulmonary histoplasmosis in Michigan to a young farmer's wife's stress over herbicide exposure and infertility to an Army recruit's bout with a botfly boil and a diagnosis of hallucinations, Rainbows in Washtubs: Diagnostic Mysteries in Agromedicine is filled with clinical and epidemiology mysteries solved by one of the pioneers of agromedicine Dr. Stanley Schuman. Pulling from his two decades of agromedical experience, Dr. Schuman recounts first-hand the same steps he had to take to get to the source of several of his most difficult and sometimes disturbing cases. This at times suspenseful book provides a wealth of solid information about the impact of environment on the health of clients. As much a textbook as a medical mystery book, Rainbows in Washtubs: Diagnostic Mysteries in Agromedicine provides an ingenious look at the scientific method and problem-solving in the medical field. Some of the puzzling mysteries solved in Rainbows in Washtubs: Diagnostic Mysteries in Agromedicine include:

what suddenly sickened a poor tenant farmer's entire family
what caused the rash on the woman's fingers
what is the best way to protect workers in Alexandria from toxic chemicals used in farming
what caused the rampant rash among migrant workers
what were the parasites infesting a pastor's family
what caused the infertility of the farm wife
what caused the near death of the hiker
what caused the golfer's diarrhea
and more!

Rainbows in Washtubs: Diagnostic Mysteries in Agromedicine is an informative, entertaining read for physicians, researchers, agricultural extension workers, farmers, and anyone who enjoys real-life medical detective stories.

Contents:

Author's Note
Chapter 1. Finding Rainbows in Washtubs: An Unlikely Story
Chapter 2. Client-Based Research: Tools That Work
Chapter 3. Nikes by the Nile: Agromedicine in Alexandria
Chapter 4. Dangerous Beauty: Peruvian Lily
Chapter 5. Dyrene Mystery: Migrant Workers at Risk
Chapter 6. Parasitosis: The Enemy Within
Chapter 7. Infertility: The Farm Wife, the In-Laws, and the Physician
Chapter 8. Fire Ants, Ticks, and Spiders: Who Is at Risk?
Chapter 9. Farmer's Risks: How to React?
Chapter 10. Raspberries and Tomatoes: Golfers and Growers
Chapter 11. Diet, Cancer, and Birth Defects: Nutritional Mysteries
Chapter 12. Hog Farm Miasma: Case Studies
Chapter 13. Milkmaid's Shoulder: Women and Children at Risk
Chapter 14. The Next Generation
Chapter 15. Starlings, Elms, and Schoolchildren: Histoplasmosis
Chapter 16. Bird Flu in Our Crowded Planet: Coexisting with Other Species
Chapter 17. How One Small Book Changed My Career: Will Pickles in Country Practice
Index