Avoid making these 6 mistakes while searching your health symptoms online

What is the first thing you do when you start feeling sick? Google your symptoms, right?

Yes, we all do that. And agree or not, most of the times the diagnosis made by Google scares us to death.

For example, if you search for ‘headache’, you might get 10 results, each scarier than the other. Your headache might also be diagnosed as a tumour or even a symptom of stroke.

In addition to incorrect diagnosis, self-diagnosing through the internet can actually be bad for your health.

This is because it puts you at risk of anxiety and incorrect diagnosis.

There is a clear possibility that what all is available on the internet might not even be near to the actual solution of your problem.

But because most of us can’t resist ourselves from searching our symptoms online, here are a few things that you need to keep in mind.

When you decide to Google your symptoms, it’s better to search using the basic keywords like ‘headache’ instead of ‘headache and brain tumour’ or ‘headache and cancer’. Googling the worst-case scenario can give you biased search results.

As opposed to ‘tummy ache’ search for ‘abdominal pain’. This way you are more likely to get authenticated results from medical websites.

Do not end your search by just reading one link. Refer to at least five to seven websites before you draw a conclusion. Even if you find a website that gives a reasonable explanation of your symptoms, it’s worth reading through several other websites in order to balance the information.

Make sure to read about who is behind the information you are reading by clicking on About Us section. If there is no option of ‘about us’ on a website, that’s not a good sign. Google the name of the organisation or website as some sites are completely funded by drug companies or the sources that profit from the sale of their products. If the website is recommending any product, make sure to check if it’s sponsored.

Beside using Google scholar, use Google’s advanced search, which provides you with high-calibre search refinement techniques. This helps you in finding out the original source of the studies. It also refines your search by date and so you get more recent and relevant articles.

Never take any medicine or make any decision based solely on what you have read on the internet – and surely not from a website that recommends purchasing their stuff will make you feel better. Always meet and discuss your concerns and symptoms with your doctor.