What do you think?
Rate this book
The Woman with a Worm in Her Head: And Other True Stories of Infectious Disease
A normal, healthy woman becomes host to a pork tapeworm that is burrowing into her brain and disabling her motor abilities.
A handsome man contracts Chicken Pox and ends up looking like the victim of a third degree burn.
A vigorous young athlete is bitten by an insect and becomes a target for flesh-eating strep.
Even the most innocuous everyday activities such as eating a salad for lunch, getting bitten by an insect, and swimming in the sea bring human beings into contact with dangerous, often deadly microorganisms. In The Woman with a Worm in Her Head , Dr. Pamela Nagami reveals-through real-life cases-the sobering facts about some of the world's most horrific the warning signs, the consequences, treatments, and most compellingly, what it feels like to make medical and ethical decisions that can mean the difference between life and death.
Unfailingly precise, calmly instructive, and absolutely engrossing, The Woman with the Worm in Her Head offers both useful information and enjoyable reading.
A handsome man contracts Chicken Pox and ends up looking like the victim of a third degree burn.
A vigorous young athlete is bitten by an insect and becomes a target for flesh-eating strep.
Even the most innocuous everyday activities such as eating a salad for lunch, getting bitten by an insect, and swimming in the sea bring human beings into contact with dangerous, often deadly microorganisms. In The Woman with a Worm in Her Head , Dr. Pamela Nagami reveals-through real-life cases-the sobering facts about some of the world's most horrific the warning signs, the consequences, treatments, and most compellingly, what it feels like to make medical and ethical decisions that can mean the difference between life and death.
Unfailingly precise, calmly instructive, and absolutely engrossing, The Woman with the Worm in Her Head offers both useful information and enjoyable reading.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
181 people are currently reading
11112 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Nagami
28 books28 followersDr. Pamela Nagami is a practicing physician in internal medicine and infectious diseases with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group and a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at UCLA. She has made appearances on CNN and NPR. She lives with her husband and two children in Encino, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
January 17, 2013
Please do not read this book if you are a hypochondriac in any way. If you don't, you'll believe you are dying from some crazy microbe or virus or worm every time you get sick.
I agree with other reviewers that this book is more of a memoir than a straight accounting of various potentially fatal diseases. But I felt that it added to the story, to see how doctors really are human too, though we expect so much from them. It also points out how falsely confident Americans tend to be regarding disease. Just because we live in a first world nation doesn't mean we can't contract some strange disease that could kill us in mere hours.
Not all of Dr Nagami's patients survive their illnesses. I found it interesting that she included these cases, which made her more human and accessible, versus being a superhero of healing. The chapter on AIDS was heart-breaking, to think about how many people we lost before we had any idea what it was we were dealing with.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as scary as as gross as it could be at times. Just make sure you have a strong stomach before you read this, and definitely don't decide to enjoy a snack at the same time.
I agree with other reviewers that this book is more of a memoir than a straight accounting of various potentially fatal diseases. But I felt that it added to the story, to see how doctors really are human too, though we expect so much from them. It also points out how falsely confident Americans tend to be regarding disease. Just because we live in a first world nation doesn't mean we can't contract some strange disease that could kill us in mere hours.
Not all of Dr Nagami's patients survive their illnesses. I found it interesting that she included these cases, which made her more human and accessible, versus being a superhero of healing. The chapter on AIDS was heart-breaking, to think about how many people we lost before we had any idea what it was we were dealing with.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as scary as as gross as it could be at times. Just make sure you have a strong stomach before you read this, and definitely don't decide to enjoy a snack at the same time.
September 1, 2016
“It started four days ago, on Monday. I felt a little tired…”
Andy, the person quoted above, didn’t realize that on his business trip to Cote d’Ivoire the week before, he’d caught a pretty nasty virus—one that would cause him to narrowly escape death. Fortunately, he’d walked into the right hospital, and into the care of Dr. Pamela Nagami, a medical “Columbo” of her field—infectious diseases.
“Often I work like a detective, sifting through the evidence other doctors give me: the patients’ symptoms, their lab tests, where they went on vacation.” Through a series of medical short stories, Nagami relates some of her most perplexing cases, including the process of identifying and treating the diseases. She’s very personable! Not only does she explain the incubation and attack mode cycles of parasites and viruses in layman’s terms, but she also reminds the reader that doctors have lives and families away from the hospital, and it’s the delicate balance of all these that made me appreciate how much doctors sacrifice for the greater good.
Nagami also included historical information about certain diseases and viruses, which was extremely helpful. These ranged from Valley Fever and The Flesh Eating Bacteria all the way to AIDS and Ebola. My absolute favorite story was “Tracking a Worm”. It made my skin crawl, but I loved it! “To track a worm, you have to find the place where the life cycle of the worm becomes part of the life cycle of the human host.” That we did! I felt like I was right there with her, ordering blood tests and poring over parasite reference books. I’m not exactly sure what this sub genre of books is called, but I feel like the marriage of suspense, mystery, science (and even horror), can be a pretty addictive combination. I can’t wait to get started on her next book—Bitten: True Medical Stories of Bites and Stings.
February 6, 2017
When I finished reading this was left with the reminder that although I may not have a perfect body it is perfectly healthy. A blessing so easily overlooked until things go wrong.
This collection of infectious disease cases was a nice book to dip in and out of.
I liked this but didn’t LOVE it. I think it’s very difficult to strike the perfect balance between writing about medicine within the framework of an author’s personal life. This one felt slightly off balance to me. Sometimes sharing too much personal trivia or at other times getting carried away with the desire to document every single action in a complicated medical case.
So though this was not a bad read I would rather recommend Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner or The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year for readers interested in medical memoirs
This collection of infectious disease cases was a nice book to dip in and out of.
I liked this but didn’t LOVE it. I think it’s very difficult to strike the perfect balance between writing about medicine within the framework of an author’s personal life. This one felt slightly off balance to me. Sometimes sharing too much personal trivia or at other times getting carried away with the desire to document every single action in a complicated medical case.
So though this was not a bad read I would rather recommend Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner or The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year for readers interested in medical memoirs
July 14, 2020
The Woman with a Worm in Her Head [2002] – ★★★★
The Woman with a Worm in Her Head is a topical non-fiction book since it talks about those infectious diseases which present a real puzzle for medical staff. Referring to her experience of working as an infectious disease doctor, Nagami talks about real patients with such seemingly surreal diseases as cocci or valley fever, leishmaniasis, chickenpox and falciparum malaria, and, of course, with live worms loose in their bodies which cause havoc and distress. Nagami’s book is definitely not for the faint of heart or the squeamish, but those who are interested in mysterious diagnoses or in unusual and rare medical illnesses will find much to appreciate in this book.
As a doctor, Nagami has an unusual approach to dealing with infectious diseases caused by worms getting inside the human body: “like a detective, I was analyzing motive, means, and opportunity for each worm”. Her efforts do pay off, as in one case of one man who ate a raw cobra and was infected with an insidious worm, developing a high fever and pains as a result. Nagami is clear about the extent of the harm that worms can cause after someone ate an exotic meal: “the tunnelling worm sometimes finds its way into the brain. When this happens, fatal damage follows”. “A Fever from Africa” is a fascinating chapter in the book, and illnesses from Africa are, indeed, numerous and frightening, from Ebola hemorrhagic fever to onchocerciasis or river blindness prevalent in West Africa. From Nagami’s first-hand account it is fascinating to learn about unusual diseases, as well as about equally unusual treatments that follow, even though the book at times turns very sad because not all Nagami’s patients make it alive.
“[[City] people] may not know that Chile’s capital Santiago is still a good place for a traveller eating a salad to catch typhoid fever. And they forget that in tropical regions, the insects and the serious disease they transmit, don’t always respect urban boundaries”.
With all due respect to the author, it is not as interesting to read about Nagami’s biographical details and medical training as it is about infectious diseases and details about her patients. The narrative even turns annoying at various points because, although Nagami is a licensed physician, she often hints that “medical procedures are not really [her] thing”, has panic attacks after patients’ visits and even thinks at one point that she infected herself with HIV after breaking her skin with the same object she used on an infected patient.
As a memoir, The Woman with a Worm in Her Head is not terribly exciting; but, as a book on unusual and horrifying infectious diseases – it is fascinating. Near the end of the book, Nagami writes: “My hope in writing this book is not to create unnecessary fear, but rather to educate readers about the potential for danger lurking in everything, from salads to the very air we breathe.” This sentiment could not have been more timely than it is today when societies around the globe fight against Coronavirus and its impact. No one is ever immune to a wide range of scary infectious diseases, and gaining more knowledge about them and their transmission (which may lead to complete prevention or early diagnoses) may save lives.
The Woman with a Worm in Her Head is a topical non-fiction book since it talks about those infectious diseases which present a real puzzle for medical staff. Referring to her experience of working as an infectious disease doctor, Nagami talks about real patients with such seemingly surreal diseases as cocci or valley fever, leishmaniasis, chickenpox and falciparum malaria, and, of course, with live worms loose in their bodies which cause havoc and distress. Nagami’s book is definitely not for the faint of heart or the squeamish, but those who are interested in mysterious diagnoses or in unusual and rare medical illnesses will find much to appreciate in this book.
As a doctor, Nagami has an unusual approach to dealing with infectious diseases caused by worms getting inside the human body: “like a detective, I was analyzing motive, means, and opportunity for each worm”. Her efforts do pay off, as in one case of one man who ate a raw cobra and was infected with an insidious worm, developing a high fever and pains as a result. Nagami is clear about the extent of the harm that worms can cause after someone ate an exotic meal: “the tunnelling worm sometimes finds its way into the brain. When this happens, fatal damage follows”. “A Fever from Africa” is a fascinating chapter in the book, and illnesses from Africa are, indeed, numerous and frightening, from Ebola hemorrhagic fever to onchocerciasis or river blindness prevalent in West Africa. From Nagami’s first-hand account it is fascinating to learn about unusual diseases, as well as about equally unusual treatments that follow, even though the book at times turns very sad because not all Nagami’s patients make it alive.
“[[City] people] may not know that Chile’s capital Santiago is still a good place for a traveller eating a salad to catch typhoid fever. And they forget that in tropical regions, the insects and the serious disease they transmit, don’t always respect urban boundaries”.
With all due respect to the author, it is not as interesting to read about Nagami’s biographical details and medical training as it is about infectious diseases and details about her patients. The narrative even turns annoying at various points because, although Nagami is a licensed physician, she often hints that “medical procedures are not really [her] thing”, has panic attacks after patients’ visits and even thinks at one point that she infected herself with HIV after breaking her skin with the same object she used on an infected patient.
As a memoir, The Woman with a Worm in Her Head is not terribly exciting; but, as a book on unusual and horrifying infectious diseases – it is fascinating. Near the end of the book, Nagami writes: “My hope in writing this book is not to create unnecessary fear, but rather to educate readers about the potential for danger lurking in everything, from salads to the very air we breathe.” This sentiment could not have been more timely than it is today when societies around the globe fight against Coronavirus and its impact. No one is ever immune to a wide range of scary infectious diseases, and gaining more knowledge about them and their transmission (which may lead to complete prevention or early diagnoses) may save lives.
January 31, 2008
A collection of an Infectious Disease Specialist's stories and encounters over the past twenty years of her work in the field. Her descriptions of the illnesses and the progression thereof are brilliant and clinical. Sometimes, she gets a little overbearing in trying to afford something spiritual to the medical cases (i.e. A scene in her residency involving a fetus's hand and seeing 'the work of God', not exactly my bag.) I will never eat salad in a foreign country. Gah.
April 24, 2022
CAWPILE rating: 2.7/10
STAR rating: ★★
Very much a me thing, but I'm realising that I tend to dislike it when sci/med nonfic books are actually more like memoirs with sprinkles of science and aren't marketed as such.
STAR rating: ★★
Very much a me thing, but I'm realising that I tend to dislike it when sci/med nonfic books are actually more like memoirs with sprinkles of science and aren't marketed as such.
November 29, 2016
"The Woman with a Worm in her Head" is a clearly and elegantly written account of Dr Nagami's career as an infectious diseases specialist. Her stories of treatments and outcomes are as gripping and full of incident as good detective fiction (though infused with more humanity). But my general ignorance and too fleeting retention of the medical and scientific details had me taking a break half way through. When I took up the book from the beginning again, I was determined to keep alert and to Google frequently (including for recent developments). A couple of times I had a suprise encounter with one of Dr Namagi's disease adversaries in a news report or in my other reading.
In this way I found myself appreciating "The Woman with a Worm in her Head" in the way which, in the final paragraph, Dr Namagi says she had intended: "Through my story you've had an opportunity to observe from a safe distance some of the things I see and they way I see them. Hopefully, now if you haven't had chickenpox, you will get the vaccine, and if you live in cocci hot spots, you'll think twice before hiking in the hills on a windy day. The maneaters are out there, but you don't have to let them in."
In this way I found myself appreciating "The Woman with a Worm in her Head" in the way which, in the final paragraph, Dr Namagi says she had intended: "Through my story you've had an opportunity to observe from a safe distance some of the things I see and they way I see them. Hopefully, now if you haven't had chickenpox, you will get the vaccine, and if you live in cocci hot spots, you'll think twice before hiking in the hills on a windy day. The maneaters are out there, but you don't have to let them in."
January 13, 2017
I have a deep fascination with medicine, disease, parasites, and pretty much any related subject. In an alternate version of the world, I might have been a doctor of some sort, if I hadn't been diverted into computers in high school. This kind of book gives me a vicarious look into what that alternate life might have been like, and what a powerful glimpse. Nagami gives personal, detailed narratives around various cases, and I love every one of them. Even when she detoured into her personal life that didn't have anything directly to do with a case, it served to remind that the people working on these diseases are human, just like every one else. The descriptions of the cases are not softened in any way, so anyone sensitive to descriptions of pus, blood, necrotic flesh, etc. would be advised to stay away; I can't, apparently, get enough.
June 2, 2020
4.5 stars
.
This was utterly fascinating. I learned about some new (to me) diseases (Valley Fever), revisited some oldies (pork tapeworms), and got to know some familiar faces better (chickenpox, measles).
.
"I still don't understand the purpose of the suffering I've seen, but I have come to believe that I'm supposed to witness it so I can help the next patient."
.
This was utterly fascinating. I learned about some new (to me) diseases (Valley Fever), revisited some oldies (pork tapeworms), and got to know some familiar faces better (chickenpox, measles).
.
"I still don't understand the purpose of the suffering I've seen, but I have come to believe that I'm supposed to witness it so I can help the next patient."
April 23, 2024
I loved this book, almost every chapter read like an episode of House (minus the abuse and insults). The majority of chapters focused on single patient experiences which were the best chapters. These were the ones that really unpacked patient history and many other doctors were brought onto the case; They were able to figure out how the patient became infected, and how to treat from there.
There were a few chapters however, that involved a series of patients all dealing with the same infection. It became less of a medical investivgative work. Instead was more a recording of different cases involving the same disease.
There were a few chapters however, that involved a series of patients all dealing with the same infection. It became less of a medical investivgative work. Instead was more a recording of different cases involving the same disease.
May 18, 2023
A lot about the author and not about the curiosities of the diseases. Sometimes I'm into that, but sometimes it did get to feel like it was too much.
July 9, 2018
If you're at all inclined towards hypochondria or are squeamish about the thought of parasitic worms moving through a body, this is not the book for you. If you're not, it's a nice, lightweight overview of an infectious disease specialist's work.
I wish there had been more depth to the book -- I'd have liked to see more in detail about how the diseases affect the body biologically, and I wish she'd spent more time talking about the process used to diagnose the diseases and how similarly presenting diseases are ruled out.
I found the non-medical bits excessive. I'd have much rather had another patient case study than reading about how Nagami was preoccupied with a case so she forgot to kiss her daughter goodbye after dropping her off at daycare, so she turned right around and found her daughter frantically looking for her, but then they had a kiss and a cuddle and everything was alright. Seriously. That happens. Why does that matter?!? I was also a bit uncomfortable with the sections where she was talking about her own issues dealing with being a doctor -- it felt like things she needed to be saying to a therapist, not to me.
On the plus side, she had some interesting family stories, such as her great(?) grandmother who died shortly after giving birth because they didn't have the resources to treat her infection -- it was an interesting comparison of the treatment of the same disease across time.
All in all, not a good choice if you're into the science/biology side of things, but good if you want to know what an infectious disease specialist does, and how Nagami feels about her work and her children.
I wish there had been more depth to the book -- I'd have liked to see more in detail about how the diseases affect the body biologically, and I wish she'd spent more time talking about the process used to diagnose the diseases and how similarly presenting diseases are ruled out.
I found the non-medical bits excessive. I'd have much rather had another patient case study than reading about how Nagami was preoccupied with a case so she forgot to kiss her daughter goodbye after dropping her off at daycare, so she turned right around and found her daughter frantically looking for her, but then they had a kiss and a cuddle and everything was alright. Seriously. That happens. Why does that matter?!? I was also a bit uncomfortable with the sections where she was talking about her own issues dealing with being a doctor -- it felt like things she needed to be saying to a therapist, not to me.
On the plus side, she had some interesting family stories, such as her great(?) grandmother who died shortly after giving birth because they didn't have the resources to treat her infection -- it was an interesting comparison of the treatment of the same disease across time.
All in all, not a good choice if you're into the science/biology side of things, but good if you want to know what an infectious disease specialist does, and how Nagami feels about her work and her children.
June 23, 2013
First off, a disclaimer.
Do NOT read this book if you're a hypochondriac, otherwise you'll think you're developing all of the symptoms you're reading about.
I liked the different case studies the author wrote about, however, I was a bit put off by the flashbacks, as they ended up being kind of boring, and I swear in one chapter that there was a flashback inside a flashback where I felt like I was watching the movie "Inception"
Some of the jargon is on a technical level, but is more or less explained to the average reader.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, but could've done without the 'fluff/filler' material.
Do NOT read this book if you're a hypochondriac, otherwise you'll think you're developing all of the symptoms you're reading about.
I liked the different case studies the author wrote about, however, I was a bit put off by the flashbacks, as they ended up being kind of boring, and I swear in one chapter that there was a flashback inside a flashback where I felt like I was watching the movie "Inception"
Some of the jargon is on a technical level, but is more or less explained to the average reader.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, but could've done without the 'fluff/filler' material.
February 14, 2015
I've mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of the medical case report genre. I do not believe it is solely my fandom that resulted in my rave review, however. This author truly has a way with words. I was honestly tearing up at several points as I read about her terribly sick patients and the feelings stirred up as she cared for them. The scientist in me was gleeful at the vivid descriptions and plentiful background information on the various pathogens. I highly recommend this one!
January 5, 2014
Interesting medical cases are presented in layman's terms in this book and are written in such a way as to make every case really "hit home." Each chapter is written to tell the medical details of each case, as well as how each case affected the author personally (i.e. how the case affected her time at home with her children). The author also provides symptoms of and helpful hints about how to avoid getting certain diseases/parasites.
January 10, 2020
This was an interesting and well-written book, though obviously it was sad since it deals with a lot of people dying or getting terribly sick. The biggest turn-off for me was the general attitude of grandiosity about the whole situation.
I get why doctors tend to think and feel about their work in grandiose terms, and I can readily imagine the emotional toll that dealing with so much death and illness can take on someone, particularly when you often know the right thing to do to save them, but I really prefer dry and detached. Lots of people save lives by doing their job, it's just not quite so immediate or so obvious when a mechanic keeps something in working order that would otherwise have broken in a destructive way, or when an engineer carefully includes wide safety margins.
In any case, I don't judge Nagami for feeling that way, I think it's only natural and I'd much rather have a doctor enraptured by the beauty of awesome and terrible nature than not have a doctor at all, I was just mostly in it to hear about interesting case studies, and not about the inner emotional life of a doctor. If you're interested in that kind of thing, this seems like a reasonably cogent book about it.
With regards to the case studies, I did find them very interesting. Surprisingly the titular "woman with a worm in her head" was one of the less-interesting ones. The chapter on Valley Fever was fairly terrifying, and while most of the stuff she covered seems somewhat mundane (i.e. you've heard of it - hopefully it hasn't happened to you, because a lot of it was pretty bad), she gave interesting accounts of the day-to-day care you might receive if one of these horrible illnesses were to befall you.
2.5 of 5 stars
I get why doctors tend to think and feel about their work in grandiose terms, and I can readily imagine the emotional toll that dealing with so much death and illness can take on someone, particularly when you often know the right thing to do to save them, but I really prefer dry and detached. Lots of people save lives by doing their job, it's just not quite so immediate or so obvious when a mechanic keeps something in working order that would otherwise have broken in a destructive way, or when an engineer carefully includes wide safety margins.
In any case, I don't judge Nagami for feeling that way, I think it's only natural and I'd much rather have a doctor enraptured by the beauty of awesome and terrible nature than not have a doctor at all, I was just mostly in it to hear about interesting case studies, and not about the inner emotional life of a doctor. If you're interested in that kind of thing, this seems like a reasonably cogent book about it.
With regards to the case studies, I did find them very interesting. Surprisingly the titular "woman with a worm in her head" was one of the less-interesting ones. The chapter on Valley Fever was fairly terrifying, and while most of the stuff she covered seems somewhat mundane (i.e. you've heard of it - hopefully it hasn't happened to you, because a lot of it was pretty bad), she gave interesting accounts of the day-to-day care you might receive if one of these horrible illnesses were to befall you.
2.5 of 5 stars
May 29, 2018
Oooooh the book is scary, if you want to make an explanation for the tv series the living dead or any apocalypse origin story I am sure you can get ideas from this book. I enjoyed Nagami's writing and her stories were educational and entertaining.
February 24, 2024
possibly one of my favorite books that i've read thus far.
i don't know, something about how this book is written, particularly how dr. pamela goes into detail about specific diseases and such, is so captivating and is, in my opinion, one of those books you can just sink into for a while if you don't have distractions around you. it's difficult to explain but she goes about explaining these things very simply without taking away the sheer.. horror and interesting aspects, of these diseases themselves, as well. i also quite like how she's so honest throughout this book, and how she shows levels of fear/genuineness. take the patient with sspe for example (manju). she basically goes into detail at several points throughout that chapter about how since her son has glaucoma and cataracts (or just in general something pretty debilitating), she understood the mother of manju's fear and level of research as to what she has, and didn't pass off her thoughts because the mother knew more about late-stage sspe than dr. pamela (if that makes any sense).
but yeah, i could go way more into detail about this book but, it's so damn good i don't have the explanation for it. i highly recommend it if you're into medical literature or just diseases in general, that or if you haven't read stuff like it before, because it's a very unintimidating book just by how it's written and the length of the book itself alone in comparison to many other books like it.
i don't know, something about how this book is written, particularly how dr. pamela goes into detail about specific diseases and such, is so captivating and is, in my opinion, one of those books you can just sink into for a while if you don't have distractions around you. it's difficult to explain but she goes about explaining these things very simply without taking away the sheer.. horror and interesting aspects, of these diseases themselves, as well. i also quite like how she's so honest throughout this book, and how she shows levels of fear/genuineness. take the patient with sspe for example (manju). she basically goes into detail at several points throughout that chapter about how since her son has glaucoma and cataracts (or just in general something pretty debilitating), she understood the mother of manju's fear and level of research as to what she has, and didn't pass off her thoughts because the mother knew more about late-stage sspe than dr. pamela (if that makes any sense).
but yeah, i could go way more into detail about this book but, it's so damn good i don't have the explanation for it. i highly recommend it if you're into medical literature or just diseases in general, that or if you haven't read stuff like it before, because it's a very unintimidating book just by how it's written and the length of the book itself alone in comparison to many other books like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2025
A lot of the books I’ve read on infectious diseases have generally been informative, but taken two sub-tones: fear mongering or clinical. In the former, you, rightly, fear the microscopic bugs that kill 80-90% of all they infect. In the latter, you spend a lot of time googling terms only a doctor would understand inherently. Both have their places and are both enjoyable on different levels. This book - The Woman with a Worm in Her Head - was human. Written by an infectious disease physician, Dr. Nagami puts into layman’s terms those clinical and medical names, and while instilling a seriousness about the viruses and bacteria she faces, she doesn’t make you subconsciously scratch at nothing or spiral diagnose your sniffly nose. She humanizes these diseases by focuses on her patients - talking about them in a way I haven’t seen in other books. They’re more than just the disease she is treating them for and she brings the reader to see how hope, for patients and doctors alike, is part and parcel to battling the world the lucky ones never have to see. This was a quick read because it was understandable and written by someone with a lot of heart. If you want to start reading about diseases, this is the book I would recommend.
August 24, 2019
Forget Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Lovecraft? An amateur. If you want to be really scared, read this book by infectious disease specialist Pamela Nagami. She uses case studies of actual patients (whose identities are masked) to illustrate various nasty types of infections and diseases the human body is susceptible to . It's very readable and very gross.
I'm a retired RN whose specialty was the operating room, so I'm not squeamish at all, but this book was giving me the creeps. The types of infections and how they can overwhelm the body's defenses are legion. Following the doctor's thought processes as she tries to identify the pathogen and find a treatment is like reading a detective story.
The chapter on adult chicken pox should send everyone who has not had it dashing to their physicians for the vaccine.
Not recommended for the faint of heart or hypochondriacs.
Now excuse me, I must go buy an industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizer.
I'm a retired RN whose specialty was the operating room, so I'm not squeamish at all, but this book was giving me the creeps. The types of infections and how they can overwhelm the body's defenses are legion. Following the doctor's thought processes as she tries to identify the pathogen and find a treatment is like reading a detective story.
The chapter on adult chicken pox should send everyone who has not had it dashing to their physicians for the vaccine.
Not recommended for the faint of heart or hypochondriacs.
Now excuse me, I must go buy an industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizer.
June 3, 2021
There's a lot I could say about this book that I probably won't. My overall impression is this: if you are not in medicine (or related fields) and are curious about disease, you might enjoy this book, provided you're not squeamish. Otherwise, its not that great. The first chapter / case was really good, great hook. A lot of the book was kinda disappointing after that and kinda anticlimactic. Also, at first I enjoyed the more personal bits she added into the cases. But like after 2-3 cases, I didn't care anymore. Can you tell me about the dying patient instead of your daughter's play please? So, overall, pretty easy to read, lots of definitions and explanations for non-medical people, okay-ish book.
September 20, 2022
yes, it's good. my health teacher gave me this book to read as i curiously eyed her shelf. all i could find were anatomy books, but then i read the spine and the title automatically caught my attention. i mean c'mon, a worm in a woman's head! that's so ME. if you aren't interested in the medical field it's still a great read, i don't want to pursue anything that has to do with treating people constantly because sometimes i cannot even treat myself properly but, reading dr. nagami's med school process, how she became so invested in infectious diseases out of ALL specialties in the healthcare industry, and how she remembered all her patients so vividly, i hope ALL healthcare professionals feel this type of dedication to their job. it was hard to read at times because of how she describes these diseases and oh my goodness chapter four was so heartbreaking. i didn't think i would enjoy this, but i did. thank you health care workers, you guys do not deserve some of the things y'all see daily.
October 28, 2023
not as interesting as the title promised to be. the woman with a worm in her head had a fairly common parasite and made a complete recovery. far too much focus on the personal life of the author and her clinical methodology, and not enough on the diseases themselves. even the diseases that were described were fairly standard. the most interesting chapter was about subacute sclerosing panencephalitis; slow viruses are terrifying.
May 5, 2024
“Whole books have been written about how important it is for patients not to lose hope. But hope is important to doctors and nurses as well. There can’t be any confidence without it.”
“Hopefully, now if you haven’t had chickenpox, you will get the vaccine, and if you live in cocci hot spots, you’ll think twice before hiking in the hills on a windy day. The maneaters are out there, but you don’t have to let them in.”
“Hopefully, now if you haven’t had chickenpox, you will get the vaccine, and if you live in cocci hot spots, you’ll think twice before hiking in the hills on a windy day. The maneaters are out there, but you don’t have to let them in.”
November 2, 2020
I read this author's book "Bitten: True Medical Stories of Bites and Stings" (2005) about two years ago and liked her style. She is a specialist in infectious medicine with an M.D. from Yale and has taught at the UCLA School of Medicine. The book about bite attacks demonstrated a good clinician's ability to bring complex science to a level easily understood by lay persons. Who knew that human bites are among the deadliest of them all? The book I just finished reading exposes things that come into the body from outside and do no good: bacteria, yeast and fungus, viruses and parasites. Each enemy of good health is introduced by means of a single case in her own experience. It humanizes the exploration of diagnosis and treatment to be able to attach the disease to one person, to those who love that person and to those who treat that person. Once again, I appreciated her ability to do all that and do it well. I don't know if she has another popular-medicine book in her but, if she does, I will most likely read it.
Read
December 26, 20223.5/5: informative regarding infectious diseases and the life of an ID physician, but a bit dry and too much focus on clinical details
June 21, 2023
I wish I too had a forever-friend Pork Tapeworm
October 13, 2025
More of a 3.5! Some stories were very good and others dry. Very intriguing and liked learning about some things I see in my job even!
March 19, 2013
I went through this book very fast (didn't get around to writing the review though). It was fascinating. Nagami is an infectious disease doctor in Los Angeles and in this book, she writes about some of her cases. She writes well, drawing her readers into these patient's lives, and how the doctors desperately try to find treatment to save them. These are all cases of diseases that people mostly got here in the United States. Sometimes we think we are protected from infectious diseases in this country, and many of the ones in this book sound foreign to us, but they can happen given the right circumstances...and they can lead to death. Some of these infections happened after really dumb things like someone eating raw food in a foreign country on a dare, others get bacteria from a sore throat or a dental problem that lead to heart valve problems which can be deadly, another person managed in this day and age to get a tapeworm in her brain from uncooked pork (which is surprising considering all the antibiotics they pump into the animals now).
Each of these stories are told with a lot of concern for the patients, whether they lived or died...which really made an impression on me of the kind of doctor that Nagami is. She said she learned to dampen her emotional involvement in patients to an extent, but she still cares about them and puts a lot of time and effort into them (more than most doctors do).
ONe of the best books of this type I've read in a long time...wish there had been more stories!
Each of these stories are told with a lot of concern for the patients, whether they lived or died...which really made an impression on me of the kind of doctor that Nagami is. She said she learned to dampen her emotional involvement in patients to an extent, but she still cares about them and puts a lot of time and effort into them (more than most doctors do).
ONe of the best books of this type I've read in a long time...wish there had been more stories!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews