Cyberchondria is a growing concern among many healthcare practitioners as patients can now research any and all symptoms of a rare disease, illness or condition, and manifest a state of medical anxiety.
Image courtesy Longislandpress
This article details about what the internet is giving us and contributing only to Neuro problems.
When Mike (Name Changed) had recurrent headaches at work, he decided to visit Dr Google to find out what was wrong. The long hours on the internet were like opening Pandora’s box. Minor sinuses, serious migraines, brain tumour…what could it be?
He imagined himself clinching his head and falling to the ground due to brain tumour like Amitabh Bachchan (Shean Connery on India- Bollywood ) blockbuster `Majboor’. His anxiety led to incessant reading on tumours and their treatment. Convinced by the diagnosis, he blew up ‘10,000 on an MRI scan and showed it to his doctor for a `second’ opinion. It turned out to be just a minor headache due to stress.
You might be laughing at Mike, but you probably know you are no different. Colds, sore throats or stomach aches, you’ve googled it all. And if these medical sites have made you a worry wart, you are not far from being a cyberchondriac. Cyberchondria, the hypochondria of the digital age, is the anxiety concerning one’s health caused by visiting medical websites.
“Patients cannot be blamed as they are vulnerable to any suggestion when they are anxious. While curiosity directs them to the net, there are other reasons. For instance, they may have seen someone close suffer with a certain health condition which makes them identify their problems with it,” says Dr G Ilangovan, senior medical consultant, Premier Medicare.
Apparently , it is common for patients to do a little homework and turn up for a check-up. According to Goo gle, one in 20 searches is for health-related information.
original article on ET health
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