I had a friend of mine recently joke with me about how after she lost her health insurance; she had to resort to Googling her symptoms when she had a problem. But apparently she isn’t the only patient seeking the internet’s “expertise”.
A recent study done by Scarborough Research found that over half of teens use the internet as the primary way of diagnosing their illnesses. And only 75 percent of people are verifying the credibility of the information they find.
Online, you can find a range of diagnosis services, that allow you type in your symptoms and find possible causes. But with this convenience, comes the need for caution and careful evaluation of the information being given.
Sites like Yahoo and Wiki offer users a platform to post threads, a place where many divulge their health questions, and get answers from other users. Although sometimes it’s beneficial to hear from someone who has experienced the same symptoms as you, only a doctor can accurately assess your ailments. Things like your medical history need to be taken into consideration when diagnosing, something a computer program may overlook.
A big problem with online diagnosing is that a range of symptoms can be caused by a range of health problems. A search for “abdominal pain” or “stomach discomfort” could lead to a range of illnesses such as indigestion to colon cancer.
All in all, neither you nor the internet is a trained and licensed physician. So take the information you find with a grain of salt. Verify its credibility and if the problems are really serious, you should go see a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.
