The rising cost of healthcare and convenience of the internet have led many people to depend on information found on medical websites. While I find it to be a positive proactive approach to monitoring one's own health, it can also be detrimental if the information is misused. The term cyberchondriac is described as a person who relies on the internet to self-diagnose medical conditions. In most cases, cyberchondriacs become obsessed with the symptoms and possible medical conditions listed. The anxiety and stress exacerbates the initial symptoms, hence contributing to a dominoe effect and constant cycle of google searches.
Medical websites are great tools when used to supplement regular doctor's visits. A physician can help to clarify the findings and provide a concrete answer that websites may not provide. Does the convenience of the internet outweigh the expertise of a trained physician? We'd love to hear your thoughts.
For me, personally, I sometimes look up things on WEB M.D. Doesn't matter if I am the one with symptoms or not. It is quite educating because although it does sometimes give you the most absurd illnesses, I mean, it is common sense, or at least should be. It is sometimes interesting to see how everything in your body connects to each other. Like someone had said in class, its up the the person to actually think they have what they see as a result of what their symptoms are. Some things are just common sense.
ReplyDeleteMyself personally would never use online medical advise. The reason why is because i need to see physical evidence of what actually may be wrong with me. I want to see the tests done to diagnose my symptoms. What happens when a person is diagnosed a cyberchondriac, would they have to physically see a doctor to get treated because going online would only make matters worse.
ReplyDeleteI think the internet is a good start for research. I do not think that it should be taken word for word but if a person is "dying" to self-diagnose it is ok to look up information online. But I have one concern, what if the person decides to misuse the information and ends up taking wrong medication or overdosing? I think it is dangereous to self-diagnose. I think it is necessary to see a doctor. For example, I had difficulty with breathing for the past couple of weeks, I went to the doctor this past week. It turned out to be a "mini" asthma atack. I can only imagine if I turned to the interent for self-diagnosis, I probably would have really hurt myself. Your health is not a joke, go see a doctor...
ReplyDeleteI can definately say that I am not a cyberchondraic. I look for information on the computer about health related information a lot, but that is because I like reading about medical science and what not. That is my major, and that's why, I get into this stuff. But I rarely have ever applied the information to my or my family's health. I think that it is a great way to research health information, but visiting the doctor is what's best for my family. I have other lives in my hands and I can't rely on the computer to decipher whether or not my kid has a common cold or pnemonia.
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