Posted on 01/31/2011 3:42:05 PM PST by Daffynition
DOCTORS have warned they are seeing too many "cyberchondriacs", those patients who misdiagnose their illnesses after Googling their symptoms.
The Australian Medical Association is concerned the plethora of online medical information is doing more harm than good, with patients increasingly referring to the internet for advice before consulting a trained GP.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
In a world where HMOs dictate that a physician has to see a patient every 10 minutes or get booted, nobody has time to read two or three pages of colloidal-silver and vitamin C drivel reprinted from the Internet. Very short reprints that are clearly relevant and based on sound science may be helpful once in a blue moon, but most of it is a waste of time and effort. Sorry, but until a time machine is invented, that’s the way it’s going to be.
They probably should add to stop taking advice from people who give medical information on infomercials or through multi marketing scams.
If my doctor felt this way I would find another doctor. Why would a doctor want an ignorant patient?
Good for your wife for being proactive.
I’ll never google for symptoms again. Your big toe could be hurting, and if you look up the ‘symptoms’ online, within 15 minutes you’ll be convinced that you’re gonna die from some rare terminal illness.
Shut up, doctors, or you will be repairing some minor abrasions to yer freakin' jaw.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was sure I didn’t want chemotherapy and began googling to validate my position.
Well...It generally changed my mind, but moving on to assess which type of chemo would be best for me, led me to several erroneous conclusions.
Turns out I was all set on a course that would likely have killed me (monoclonal antibodies), as it contains mouse cells and my allergic reaction would have had dire results.
The doc recommended low-dose cisplatin and that worked GREAT!
There are no text book answers for cancer and you’d better start by listening to the doc.
Yes, it’s good to be informed, but don’t think you’re going to replace 10-12 years of focused education w google!
BtD: "Not this time, Doc. I got these pains, see, and I been on the Interwebs so I know what it is..."
Doc: (resignedly) "OK, I'll bite. What is it?"
BtD: "Ovarian cysts."
Doc: "Yeah, right." (Shakes a few pills out of a bottle) "Here, take two of these and call me in the morning."
BtD: "Thanks, Doc! Say, that label says 'KCN' - whazzat?"
Doc: "Oh, it's just a brand name. Very popular in Germany."
BtD: "Thanks, Doc!" (Sound of door thumping shut behind him)
Doc: "Especially with the Nazi high command, as the Russians were closing in..."
I think this is the diff between male v female. Wimmins are detail oriented.
“Stop Googling your symptoms. Doctors are sick of it”
Give the people the means to treat themselves without the need to see a doctor or go to the hospital. If they feel fully informed, let them have access to any and all drugs/scans/medical devices etc.....as long as they pay for it.
Those that die from their own misdiagnosises/hypochondria, they’re weeded out of the gene pool. Those that get better, carry on.
Liberty, cost savings, and no need to pay 100’s of dollars for a disinterested opinion on what kind of syptoms you may have.
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In my book, none of this involves going to see a doctor or going through the bureaucratic hassles when I don’t have to. I don’t take my car to a mechanic for a diagnosis, I fix it myself.
No perscriptions needed, no authorization on tests needed, etc. As long as it’s market oriented. Win-win for everybody involved.
Good thing I was able to Google my symptoms to come up with the CORRECT diagnosis, after months of going from Dr. to Dr. , all saying there was nothing wrong with me. When I determined what it was and went to the proper specialist, who ran the proper blood tests, yep, I was right.
No one knows, or cares, about your body as much as you do.
However much we rail against organized labor or trades, the AMA is one union we will always pay tribute. They have the power to persuade legislators to deny free citizens the right to diagnose and treat their own illnesses with any and all means and medicines.
Tough, Doc. Suck it up.
Sad to say, I did too. After going thru a battery of tests this past summer which all put me at peak health, my physician asked me what I thought was the problem. I suggested Parkinsons Disease and then he asked me where I got that ideal. I said the internet.......
He then replied that if it was Parkinsons then not to worry about it because there is no known cure.........
He then suggested what I subconsciously knew all along: stop smoking, take some vitamins, get more cardio workouts and stop worrying about politics............he was right.
Oh gosh, a friend and I at work were just talkiing about this. Last week I had cancer and she had a pituitary tumor.
I view pharma commercials and self-knowledge from the net differently. Commercials should be illegal. Research should not. However, we should not be self diagnosing without a consult.
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