First of all, to show my credibility, I want you to note that I am currently a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine. I have seen people google their symptoms online and they think they know their illness; this is not true. We were taught how to behave in clinical conditions and in the ethics of medicine. We were also taught various diagnostic methods. Now, as a medical staff, I strongly recommend that you should not and do not ask for any medical advice online. I will go into details with this record, but keep in mind that diagnosing yourself is not a good idea if you have no clinical experience.
Doctors go to medical school, and they struggle to learn, sleepless nights and drink gallons of coffee for a good reason. I do not recommend drinking gallons of coffee, this is a good idea, this is what medical students do. In any case, if diagnosing online, not seeing the patient, was the norm for doctors, then we would have more doctors, and the medical field would be easy, but it is not. Most people say that the medical field is the most difficult area of study, and from experience, which I consider. Only dedicated people go to medical school, and therefore they trust people’s lives.
Why am I against it?
Basically it looks like another online enterprise to earn big money. Health care is not a joke, and health guidelines should be regulated. If doctors do not have their patients in front of them, then how will they know what their disease is. A description of the symptoms and the physical can go far, and not enough to diagnose the treatment of the disease.
Now, if the site has provided information about diseases and procedures, such as the WebMD site, then everything is fine. Information should be distributed freely, and the study of various medical topics is safe and good. Patient decisions are completely dependent on them, but they should not be diagnosed online. Doctors who participate in the “Ask the Doctor” online services should be careful, because if something negative happens, they ask for a lawsuit. I know someone who had a neck pain, which, as it turned out, was caused by the way he sleeps. However, when he asked the doctor online, the doctor told him that it could be meningitis, and told him to quickly go to the hospital. When the patient went to the hospital, the ER doctor told him nothing, and he must first go to the clinic. Thus, it is best to put forward diagnostics.
Google is not a medical school, clinic or hospital. This is just an information engine. Do not make the mistake of your life.
The importance of personal diagnosis
A prospective personal diagnosis is safe and can be confirmed. For example, if a patient explains online that he or she has a rash. Now the rash can be caused by many factors. Different types of rashes cause different types of diseases or drugs. An example would be Lyme disease and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Lyme disease has a rash similar to a target sign, while SLE rash resembles a butterfly. I will not go into medical details, because this is another page of medical terms, but there are many other factors that relate to Lyme disease and SLE. The diagnosis can only be confirmed by a doctor.
The right decision will cost you financially, because healthcare is expensive, but you don’t have to pay with your health or your life.
