We’ve all been there before.
You know how it happens, you start to feel slightly unwell and begin to experience a couple of different symptoms but don’t have a clue what is wrong with you. But is it really worth booking an appointment with a doctor and wasting their time? You might as well just google your symptoms, right?!
Wrong! You really shouldn’t google your symptoms!
Lots of people do regularly turn to Dr. Google to try and find out what is wrong with them before they see their doctor, but is that really a smart move? Here are some things that might make you think again before googling any unusual symptoms.
You Can Cause A Lot Of Unnecessary Anxiety
One of the main drawbacks of googling your symptoms is that you won’t be able to get any medical help or assistance if you do find out that you actually are suffering from a serious illness. You will, therefore, have to book an appointment with your doctor so that you can get any required medication. And, as waiting lists for doctor’s appointments are getting longer, you may have quite a while to wait to see your doc. That can result in you getting very anxious while you wait to be seen! And all that anxiety might make you even more ill. Not only that, though, but you might be getting anxious over nothing. Either way, though, it’s a whole lot of anxiety that you could probably do without!
You Might Find A False Negative
When you are trying to find an illness that would cause your specific symptoms, you might end up finding a false negative. This means that you are unable to find a cause for them, or you discover that the cause is actually rather minor and can be ignored. However, this might not be the case, and you might, in actual fact, need medical assistance. So, don’t risk finding a false negative and just go to your doctor rather than turning to Google. Otherwise, you might end up thinking that your condition is a whole lot more serious than what it actually is!
There’s Also The Chance Of A False Positive
There is also the chance that Dr. Google might tell you that you have a completely different illness or condition to the one you actually have. If you are googling because you think you have the symptoms of bipolar depression, Google might, in fact, try and tell you that you have clinical depression. There is a strong distinction between these two conditions, and a wrong diagnosis could make yours much worse. There are also many physical diseases and illnesses that can easily be mistaken and result in a false positive diagnosis. It’s preferable to see your doctor for a full diagnosis so that you can rule out any potential false positives.
Dr. Google Doesn’t Have Any Clinical Judgment
One of the main reasons why it’s so important to get an official diagnosis from a professional doctor is that they have solid clinical judgment. This judgment puts him or her in the best possible position to be able to piece together all the symptoms and pieces of evidence that you give them to come up with a diagnosis. That’s not all, though, as a thorough physical examination and listening to the patient are all part of a medical professional’s clinical judgment. Without that, there is no way you will be able to get a diagnosis and treatment you can 100% trust.
Health Websites Aren’t Really Interested In Your Health
When you enter all your symptoms into Google, you will probably be sent straight to a few different health sites. Most of these will have articles about various illnesses and health condition. However, they aren’t really interested in making you better. These sites have been set up as a business and their sole goal will be to get visitors to buy books and other products from their site. As a result, the information that they provide in all the articles and blog posts probably won’t be totally accurate. So, rather than risk getting misinformed, you should simply book an appointment with your doctor as soon as start to notice your symptoms.
There really is no excuse to google your symptoms. The only place you should be turning to for medical advice is your doctor’s surgery. Plus, they will be able to offer you all the medication and treatment that you might need. And you can certainly trust them with your whole health!