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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