In recent years, the use of the internet for diagnosis of health problems has become an epidemic. According to a 2008 study by Microsoft regarding escalation of medical concerns in web search, 80% of American adults have searched for health care information using an online website such as the WebMD, MyelectronicMD, or PubMed at least once. While it is true that the internet is a revolutionary technology which mostly provides us with helpful information and resources, it is also true that it can be misleading when it comes to health and illness.
Online X-Ray Application by Simon Anderson. Source: flickr.com
Let me start by asking you a couple of mind-provoking questions: How many times have you used the internet to figure out why you had a headache, and just about how many times have you received a response such as a possible tumour, or a partial blockage of an artery in your brain! I bet more than a dozen. The fact is,
headache, for example, can be a symptom of a variety of health issues such as stress or anxiety, poor sleep, dehydration, and many more. So, the probability of you finding the actual cause of a symptom from a list of numerous other conditions is very low. Additionally, not only it is easy to misdiagnose and panic, it is likely that you choose a wrong treatment strategy such as taking a wrong medication which may cause many other serious health complications. You may ask how is this possible? Well, an online self-diagnosis website has many running costs and one way for the owners to cover those costs is by advertisement of medical products. The products advertised may not in any way meet
the international standards for drug evaluation and classification nor the
F.D.A standards if being distributed within the U.S., so even in the very rare case of a correct diagnosis, it is likely that the website provides you with an unsafe treatment method or medication.
Endless Drugs, Endless Results by Andy Stuart. Source: flickr.com
In the year 2009, Microsoft created an H1N1 Swine Flue Online Response Center which was said to be a “self-assessment tool” for people when Swine Flue outbreak occurred. Watch Dr. Svetlana Kogan talk about this website in the following Fox News interview:
Video from youtube user: 91177info
All in all, Remember to always consult with your physician about your symptoms for the best possible diagnosis and treatment. This is not to say that physicians never make mistakes; But, be sure that in most cases with the correct set of medical tools and laboratory tests, the diagnoses made by your physician is valid.
Ashkan Nasr
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