Diagnosing yourself online can be risky
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Its something lot of people have done – turned to “doctor google”. But diagnosing yourself online can be risky, if you don’t know what information to trust. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found 72 per cent of us use the internet for health-related information. Mostly search engines, which can turn up all kinds of answers. There are good resources out there, you just have to know where to look.
Most of us are guilty of it- though we rarely get the answers we’re looking for. Dr. Kaitlin Dupuis says researching your medical maladies online can have advantages if you do it right. “Being able to communicate your expectations with your doctor of what you think it might be…is helpful for that patient-physician communication.” Dr. Dupuis recommends using sites like webmd, where information is reviewed by a team of doctors and updated often with new research.
Look for a clearly visible author on each article. “Make sure their credentials are easy to find as well and keep an eye on what their credentials are and make sure that you trust those credentials. Certainly someone who has an MD behind their name and then specialist qualifications beyond that.”
Avoid forums and message boards- their content is usually anecdotal and not verified. Also look for sites that are connected to hospitals or universities rather than private companies. And, if you’re researching specific symptoms to find a diagnosis, know when it’s time to call the doctor.
“If things are not falling together, you’re not improving, your symptoms are not making sense according to what you’re reading, you need to check in with your medical doctor.”
Above all, don’t assume the worst case scenario. Most symptoms are caused by common conditions, even if the internet tells you otherwise. Dr. Dupuis says you should also avoid “googling” your symptoms. You’re much better off searching through a specific medical website. Google will find the most popular answers, not necessarily the right ones.
