Doctors, Playing Doctor and Cyberchondria!

Catherine was worried. For weeks she had been experiencing twitching in muscles all over her body. So, she did what millions of us would do: she Googled 'muscle twitching'. Do the search yourself to see why Catherine's worry quickly turned to terror. Among the results are a page on a university website about Creutzfeldt-Jakob. Cyberchondria has been around for almost a decade. Why are so many of us so willing to believe the skewed result of web searches? One problem is laziness. Pauline Brimblecombe believes the internet has made patients more interested in their own health and therefore more likely to look after themselves. If my patients Google something and come rushing in with bits of paper, at least I know what they're worried about and can reassure them. Horvitz, too, believes in the power of the web. It's an extraordinary resource for healthcare information. We're talking about a stone with a rough edge here, not a fatal flaw. Doctors need to work with patients and realise they are going to go to the web before they come in.

They borrow leftover prescription drugs from friends, attempt to self-diagnose ailments online, stretch their diabetes and asthma medicines for as long as possible and set their own broken bones. When emergencies strike, they rarely can afford the bills that follow. Nicole Polec said she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and has a client who procures Ritalin on her behalf from a sympathetic doctor who has seen Ms. Polec’s diagnosis. Ms. Polec’s roommate, Fara D’Aguiar, 26, treated her last flu with castoff amoxicillin (probably expired) given to her by a friend. When Robert Voris last had health insurance, in 2007, he stockpiled tubing and other supplies. He said the tubing for the insulin pump, which administers insulin, costs $900 a month, so lately he has instead been injecting insulin with a syringe. At this point, I can’t really justify it monetarily. I’ve got to make rent and eat. With insurance out of reach, Mr. McElroy has taken to playing doctor, using online resources like WebMD, which offers medical news, descriptions of various diseases and drugs, and discussion groups. As he spoke, Mr. McElroy was icing his feet, which, one day in January, had become cripplingly painful; he was unable to walk. I think I have plantar fasciitis. I’ve been laid out for two weeks.

Cyberchondria is the deluded belief you suffer from all the diseases featured on the Internet. That's a little harsh, London Times. I mean, we've all done this at one point or another: Hm, what's this little bump on the back of my neck here, Good Sir Internet? Malignant Tumor!?! And this cramp in my abdomen? Stomach Cancer! And yet, we're not truly deluded. We're just looking for answers, and it's easy to get alarmed by a doom-saying description that seems to be just a little too accurate. But realize that most of the horrifying diseases you dig up online are extremely rare, and don't put too much credence in Internet diagnoses—you need to see a real doctor if you think there's something wrong. You do your best to live green and eat healthy, remember? And an important part of having a healthy lifestyle is knowing you lead one. And yes, there are some horrible, debilitating, even fatal diseases out there. But you probably don't have them.

Didn't find it? Enhances your Search Results with Glossary A-Z. Find specific keywords that point to the latest related news: Diseases. Cyberchondria is the deluded belief you suffer from all the Diseases featured on the Internet! RSS CrossRef Health Search and and share

!