You’ll Soon Be Able to Google Your Symptoms Without Fearing for Your Life

Facebook: If you have a thing for self–diagnosis….

Google has been both a godsend and major source of anxiety for hypochondriacs.

Googling a symptom like “headache” can convince you that you have a brain tumour, aneurysm, or carbon monoxide poisoning, in addition to the panic attack that just set in.

Yet most of us still turn to Dr. Google the moment we realize that something isn’t right – from mild stomach irritations to allergic reactions.

In fact, according to Google, one in 20 searches are health-related, with one per cent of its total searches being about symptoms. But as any healthcare professional will remind you, it’s never a good idea to self-diagnose yourself through an online search. The Internet is filled with all kinds of misinformation that do a lot more harm than good, leaving you more concerned and confused than you should be.

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“Health content on the web … tends to lead people from mild symptoms to scary and unlikely conditions,” acknowledged Google in a company blog post last week. That’s why they’ve started to roll out a new feature called Symptom Search.

The feature allows users to type a symptom into the app, which will then display a short overview of the symptom, information on how to treat it yourself, and the signs that indicate you should head to the doctor. Drawing on the help of experts at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic, it also shows a list of related conditions. You don’t have to have a medical degree to understand it either; it’s all laid out in plain and simple language.

The feature is currently only available in the U.S. and in English but there are plans to roll it out in Canada and beyond.

The feature will raise a few eyebrows from those who believe that Google health-related searches can do more harm than good. A 2015 Medical Post survey of 1,000 Canadian MDs found 41 per cent were “extremely” or “very” cautious of online health information.

It’s important to keep in mind that there is a difference between seeking information and carrying out a self-diagnosis. As Canadians, we should take advantage of our universal access to a doctor’s office. For many of those South of the Border, however, Google is a more financially viable option than seeing a professional.

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With that said, our healthcare system wouldn’t work if everyone hit the doctor for every minor ailment, question, curiosity, or concern. Google isn’t trying to replace health care and become a digital doctor, but to provide information.

It’s better to be on top of your health than to ignore it – even if my doctor jokes about starting to charge me rent).

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