Self Diagnosing Through the Internet - A Blessing and a Curse
Let me just get out there early in this article (yes it is that important), the information highway known as the internet is a Godsend when it comes to making information and research available.
It is not however, and never should take the place of a good family doctor or practitioner.
It was never meant to be a tool for self diagnosing.
When used as such, it can become an extremely dangerous and harmful tool.
It is a good idea to do research on any concerns you may have with regards to you or your family's health.
I like many of you know of such cases in this example a friend of mine; where the doctor gave him a death sentence only to have him and his wife scour the internet for a second opinion.
Did the find it? Yes, they found hope and a specialist who successfully brought them through the storm.
Information on the internet saved their lives.
But we are talking about someone who had a diagnosis and wanted a second opinion.
That is smart and appropriate.
Why the warning at the beginning? Because of all the unnecessary anxiety and panic attacks that many people are going through and you know who you are.
There are many people out who will enter a few symptoms into their computer and even though their results can bring back several low concerning findings, they will destructively focus on the worst possible disease that they can find.
Even though they may share only a few of those same symptoms they consider themselves a perfect match.
Or even if they understand that this particular disease has not been found in the U.
S in the last 30 years they still may believe that they will be the first case in that time.
By all means do your research.
But before you panic it is recommended that you make an appointment with your doctor.
When you speak with him/her, present first your concerns and symptoms then allow him/her to make their diagnosis.
After which is the appropriate time to communicate your research findings especially if they differ from your doctors diagnosis.
There are good reasons for doing this.
You do not want to sidetrack your doctor, confuse him/her or influence their diagnosis (they are better at this than you are).
But once they have made their all important diagnosis or have in mind what tests to order then is a good time to address your internet findings if you are still worried about them.
Your doctor can then sit with you and address the relevancy of your findings and if necessary dispel any inappropriate fears you may have.
As with anything in life, balance is the key.
Being practical and yet being proactive at the same time will usually pay dividends.
There are certain people who have a hard time with fear and the fear of the unknown may trigger anxiety and panic.
To these people we breathe a word of caution about too much research before it is necessary.
We are talking about suffering unnecessary from anxiety that is ill founded and it is brought on by bringing together very remote and highly unlikely worse case scenarios and our own negative thinking.
You may think this as an exaggeration but there are truly people out there who will immediately run to the web with rash (example heat rash) and spend some panic stricken minutes if not hours scouring the internet fearing the worst.
What is worse is that they will do this with any and every little thing.
The good news is that there is a way to change.
It is not necessary to suffer from such panic stricken moments.
If you are prone to anxiety then remember, the most important thing is that if you believe that you or a family member is ill, consult with your doctor immediately.
Then invest in a good, natural anti-anxiety program that will assist you with dealing the anxiety that comes with the unknown.
As a bonus, your life as a whole will benefit from this program and not just this one problem area.
The internet is a wonderful place for information and research but too much of a good thing can always turn into a bad thing so let's be safe out there.
It is not however, and never should take the place of a good family doctor or practitioner.
It was never meant to be a tool for self diagnosing.
When used as such, it can become an extremely dangerous and harmful tool.
It is a good idea to do research on any concerns you may have with regards to you or your family's health.
I like many of you know of such cases in this example a friend of mine; where the doctor gave him a death sentence only to have him and his wife scour the internet for a second opinion.
Did the find it? Yes, they found hope and a specialist who successfully brought them through the storm.
Information on the internet saved their lives.
But we are talking about someone who had a diagnosis and wanted a second opinion.
That is smart and appropriate.
Why the warning at the beginning? Because of all the unnecessary anxiety and panic attacks that many people are going through and you know who you are.
There are many people out who will enter a few symptoms into their computer and even though their results can bring back several low concerning findings, they will destructively focus on the worst possible disease that they can find.
Even though they may share only a few of those same symptoms they consider themselves a perfect match.
Or even if they understand that this particular disease has not been found in the U.
S in the last 30 years they still may believe that they will be the first case in that time.
By all means do your research.
But before you panic it is recommended that you make an appointment with your doctor.
When you speak with him/her, present first your concerns and symptoms then allow him/her to make their diagnosis.
After which is the appropriate time to communicate your research findings especially if they differ from your doctors diagnosis.
There are good reasons for doing this.
You do not want to sidetrack your doctor, confuse him/her or influence their diagnosis (they are better at this than you are).
But once they have made their all important diagnosis or have in mind what tests to order then is a good time to address your internet findings if you are still worried about them.
Your doctor can then sit with you and address the relevancy of your findings and if necessary dispel any inappropriate fears you may have.
As with anything in life, balance is the key.
Being practical and yet being proactive at the same time will usually pay dividends.
There are certain people who have a hard time with fear and the fear of the unknown may trigger anxiety and panic.
To these people we breathe a word of caution about too much research before it is necessary.
We are talking about suffering unnecessary from anxiety that is ill founded and it is brought on by bringing together very remote and highly unlikely worse case scenarios and our own negative thinking.
You may think this as an exaggeration but there are truly people out there who will immediately run to the web with rash (example heat rash) and spend some panic stricken minutes if not hours scouring the internet fearing the worst.
What is worse is that they will do this with any and every little thing.
The good news is that there is a way to change.
It is not necessary to suffer from such panic stricken moments.
If you are prone to anxiety then remember, the most important thing is that if you believe that you or a family member is ill, consult with your doctor immediately.
Then invest in a good, natural anti-anxiety program that will assist you with dealing the anxiety that comes with the unknown.
As a bonus, your life as a whole will benefit from this program and not just this one problem area.
The internet is a wonderful place for information and research but too much of a good thing can always turn into a bad thing so let's be safe out there.