Does Anybody Else Find The Internet To Be Quite "Disturbing" When Looking For Related Symptom Answers ?

[TriggerPoint]

WOW !

I'll Have A Simple Question Like Say, " Why Is My Systolic Reading Higher Than Normal Most Days, Wile My Lower Number & Heart Rate Is Fine ? "

With All The Related Articles You Read You'd Think Your Life Is OVER & You Are On Your Last Leg !*

Some Are Simple & Understandable. But Others Have You FEARING You Are Already 6 Feet Under !

I'm Starting To Find Myself In A Panic Anxiety State Reading All This Stuff ! It Makes You Wonder What Your Docs May Have Missed !

Well, I Don't Know If Googling For Health Answers Is Wise or/ Not.

What Do You Think ?

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

Fantastic source of 8nformation. If you search wisely, and use known authenticated sites. If you’re easily anxious, then don’t!

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum! If you go through some posts here you will see that I and others frequently advise people to avoid Doc Google and stick to known sites such as the NHS and BHF ones. There is a lot of out-of-date and misinformation out there. The other area to avoid is flawed research based on a small non-representative sample. Only yesterday I mentioned one that had failed to record the cause of death and yet extrapolated their results to give an unduly pessimistic conclusion. You Google at your own risk!

[Deanosbeano]

If you have any anxiety Dr Google will scare the life out of you .

Some of the top results sound really legit like mayo clinic etc but wow if you have a headache you got cancer if you have pain in chest you have a hole in your heart .

I find the NHS site is ok and of course this site is excellent

[TriggerPoint in reply to Deanosbeano]

NHS ?*

[Deanosbeano in reply to TriggerPoint]

National Health Service UK

[Inamoment]

Don't forget the snake oil salesmen. I particularly avoid American sites, they don't appear to have any rules about being honest. I nearly always use nhs choices, well written, honest and very comprehensive.

The internet needs editing.

[HectorsDad]

Never check the internet for symptoms. Last time I let my browser wander I discovered I was going through the menopause: quite a surprise for a 57 year old man!

[Qualipop]

You need to use only recognised sites like he BHF and NHS. Ignoe the rest. A lot are just advertising their own products or ideas. AFter my heart attack the letters LAD wee on my discharge letter. I had no idea what it meant so I googled and all I found was "Widow maker" and articles of doom and gloom- enough to give me another heart attack. Don't do it. I suffer from healh anxiety and googling is the worst thing I could ever do