Are you a cyberchondriac?
What's the first thing you do when you have a new ailment? Do you call the doctor, chat about it with a spouse or colleague (assuming it's not embarrassing), or check online for more information?
Chances are, you chose the latter. A new poll shows that 160 million people used the Internet to find information about their health problems, which is up 37% from the two previous years. In fact, the practice is so common, that these so-called "cyberchondriacs" make up a whopping 84% of all online adults.
The good news is, that people seem to be finding whatever it is they're looking for -- and, even better, is that the majority of them are then using this information to have an informed conversation with their doctor.
Because let's face it, no matter how much you read, you don't have a medical degree, and there's an enormous amount of information out there -- some of it skewed to scare you, and still more that's just flat out inaccurate. If you're worried about a health problem, the Internet is a great resource, but make sure you follow up on real concerns with your doctor.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-02-2007 @ 11:29AM
Crabby McSlacker said...
It's tempting, isn't it, to call Dr. Google when you've got some weird symptom? Because it doesn't cost anything, you don't have to get undressed, there are no lectures about losing weight or whatever...
The only problem is that Dr. Google loves to tell you that you're innocent little symptoms could be a fatal disease! Good idea for the anxious to see a real doctor instead.
(Crabby also posted about this at her grouchy health blog, although clicking on the link may be a warning sign of Acute Blogitis:
http://crankyfitness.blogspot.com/2007/05/cyberchondria-and-blogitis-real.html
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8-02-2007 @ 8:44PM
Anonymous Med Student said...
I can attest, even (almost) doctors still occasionally ask Dr. Google before turning to more professional sources. Used correctly, google can actually give a pretty good idea of what's going on. I'm generally glad when a patient asks me to write down a term so they can google it later - it means that they're interested in knowing what's going on with their health.
However, used incorrectly, google will convince you you're dying of some rare disease. The key is, even doctors go to the doctor. It's always important to get an outside informed opinion on these things.
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