What most of us already knew . . . reading about drug side effects makes you sick. So does reading about diseases. But as long as it's there, we won't be able to resist checking whether that brain tumor is acting up again.
In Australia it probably will be blocked under their new communist-style filter system they are putting into place.
More seriously, the availability of online medical information does create problems. With senior parents I have enough trouble trying to calm them down every time some new drug commercial starts running - seems anyone over 65 has more disease than you can shake a stick at. Factor in one or two "hip" friends of their with the internet and the angst rises exponential. I've seen more printouts of WebMD and other symptoms pages than you can imagine, all with a concerned "your father might have this" and so on.
Its gotten so bad, the doctor can say "No, you are healthy" and mom or pop will have someone double check the internet to be sure. Its sad so many that used to age with peace and grace are now terrified by the words "you might have.."
@Lily, I don't believe Megan has endorsed any such thing. Rather, she's merely provided an intro to the given link. I believe Megan probably does not think WebMD should be illegal.
For my part, I'm glad there's more medical information freely available online. You definitely need to exercise critical thinking skills when using such information, which many people sorely lack, but I think on the whole it contributes to people being better informed than they would be otherwise. There's always been a lot of misinformation spread about medical conditions (from the media, from advertisements, from friends and family), the previous state of ignorance is hardly one we want to return to.
We're in an economic crisis; economic news is making us sick. Obviously, economic blogs should be illegal. Particularly ones written by women, who are less likely to make poor judgement based on their hormones (link to a NYTimes story)
I read Web MD constantly when I had this tingling sensation in my legs, and my symptoms belonged to dozens of diseases, including M.S. and Parkinsons. I finally found out I had a pinched nerve. But I'd already aged a decade. Ban it.
I think web Md is a tool... and sometimes you find answers that some idot doctors missed when
your best friend dies of a desiese that they totally missed.
My best friend died at a early ADULT age she went to her regular doctors and to the emergancy rooms
and no answer for her headaches and the care she
got was horrible be poor in america and the health care is terrible be poor and blACK WELL
NOT FAIR...
sHE PUT HER SYMTOMS THROUGH wEB MD BUT WAS MISSING
A FEW THAT SHE DIDN'T REALIZE OR DID BUT WASN'T SURE IF THEY WERE DECIEDING FACTORS SHE TOLD HER
DOCTORS BUT THEY MISSED THE CLUES...
fRIST THEY MISSED A KIDNEY ISSUE, THE ALSO MISSED
THAT HER BRAIN WAS SWELLING WITH EVERY HEADACHE SHE HAD THIS WAS FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS OF AGONY...
SHE ALSO HAD HORMAONAL CHANGES DUE TO PREGENACY AND BEING PUT ON BIRTH CONTROL AFTER...IT HER KIDS
ARE GROWING UP WITHOUT HER...
evEN THE MEDICAL EXAMINER WAS COVERING FOR THE
EMERGANCY ROOM DOCS... DIDN'T REALIZE THAT
SHE HAD A PSUDO TUMMER AND WHILE MACRODEGENERATION
MADE THIS A HARD DIGAGONIS i STILL BELIEVE THE QUALITY OF CARE FORM INTERNS AT EMERGANCY ROOMS AND AN X RAY TECH WHO SAID SHE WAS JUST HAVING MIGRAINES .... MAYBE IF i HAD SAT AND GONE ON WEB MD WITH HER SHE'D BE HERE TODAY... i AM JUST SOMEONE WITH A GOOD BIO KNOWLEDGE BUT i FEEL HORRIABLE i FIGURED IT OUT WITH THE AUTOPSY REPORT AND LOT OF BOGUS INFO PUT ON THEIR TO COVER UP INCOMPETENCY AT THE EMERGANCY ROOM
In Australia it probably will be blocked under their new communist-style filter system they are putting into place.
More seriously, the availability of online medical information does create problems. With senior parents I have enough trouble trying to calm them down every time some new drug commercial starts running - seems anyone over 65 has more disease than you can shake a stick at. Factor in one or two "hip" friends of their with the internet and the angst rises exponential. I've seen more printouts of WebMD and other symptoms pages than you can imagine, all with a concerned "your father might have this" and so on.
Its gotten so bad, the doctor can say "No, you are healthy" and mom or pop will have someone double check the internet to be sure. Its sad so many that used to age with peace and grace are now terrified by the words "you might have.."
Megan McArdle, self-styled libertarian, discusses whether WebMC should be censored. For our own good. Wow. just Wow.
Lily,
I think this one is tongue in cheek.
@Lily, I don't believe Megan has endorsed any such thing. Rather, she's merely provided an intro to the given link. I believe Megan probably does not think WebMD should be illegal.
For my part, I'm glad there's more medical information freely available online. You definitely need to exercise critical thinking skills when using such information, which many people sorely lack, but I think on the whole it contributes to people being better informed than they would be otherwise. There's always been a lot of misinformation spread about medical conditions (from the media, from advertisements, from friends and family), the previous state of ignorance is hardly one we want to return to.
We're in an economic crisis; economic news is making us sick. Obviously, economic blogs should be illegal. Particularly ones written by women, who are less likely to make poor judgement based on their hormones (link to a NYTimes story)
Sophomore symptoms is the disease that hits medical students in their sophomore year when they start learning symptons of various diseases.
WebMD was the justification given for the war in Iraq, no WebMD were found.
Why should we ban something that we haven't even proven exist?
I read Web MD constantly when I had this tingling sensation in my legs, and my symptoms belonged to dozens of diseases, including M.S. and Parkinsons. I finally found out I had a pinched nerve. But I'd already aged a decade. Ban it.
I think web Md is a tool... and sometimes you find answers that some idot doctors missed when
your best friend dies of a desiese that they totally missed.
My best friend died at a early ADULT age she went to her regular doctors and to the emergancy rooms
and no answer for her headaches and the care she
got was horrible be poor in america and the health care is terrible be poor and blACK WELL
NOT FAIR...
sHE PUT HER SYMTOMS THROUGH wEB MD BUT WAS MISSING
A FEW THAT SHE DIDN'T REALIZE OR DID BUT WASN'T SURE IF THEY WERE DECIEDING FACTORS SHE TOLD HER
DOCTORS BUT THEY MISSED THE CLUES...
fRIST THEY MISSED A KIDNEY ISSUE, THE ALSO MISSED
THAT HER BRAIN WAS SWELLING WITH EVERY HEADACHE SHE HAD THIS WAS FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS OF AGONY...
SHE ALSO HAD HORMAONAL CHANGES DUE TO PREGENACY AND BEING PUT ON BIRTH CONTROL AFTER...IT HER KIDS
ARE GROWING UP WITHOUT HER...
evEN THE MEDICAL EXAMINER WAS COVERING FOR THE
EMERGANCY ROOM DOCS... DIDN'T REALIZE THAT
SHE HAD A PSUDO TUMMER AND WHILE MACRODEGENERATION
MADE THIS A HARD DIGAGONIS i STILL BELIEVE THE QUALITY OF CARE FORM INTERNS AT EMERGANCY ROOMS AND AN X RAY TECH WHO SAID SHE WAS JUST HAVING MIGRAINES .... MAYBE IF i HAD SAT AND GONE ON WEB MD WITH HER SHE'D BE HERE TODAY... i AM JUST SOMEONE WITH A GOOD BIO KNOWLEDGE BUT i FEEL HORRIABLE i FIGURED IT OUT WITH THE AUTOPSY REPORT AND LOT OF BOGUS INFO PUT ON THEIR TO COVER UP INCOMPETENCY AT THE EMERGANCY ROOM