{"id":1440,"date":"2012-05-16T08:51:57","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T15:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/\/dev\/blog\/?p=262"},"modified":"2012-05-16T08:51:57","modified_gmt":"2012-05-16T15:51:57","slug":"looking-for-health-answers-on-the-world-wide-web","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/looking-for-health-answers-on-the-world-wide-web\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for Health Answers on the World Wide Web"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re all too familiar with the search for that quick answer for our myriad of health questions on the omnipresent Google or WebMD.\u00a0 I confess, I have gone there too.\u00a0 Not a day goes by in the day to day care of patients in my private practice, that I face the popular phrase, \u201cDoctor, I looked it up on the internet.\u201d\u00a0 A small percentage of patients, actually do find reliable, accurate and valuable information, though far too many find themselves more lost, confused and be ridden with fear after their search on the world wide web.\u00a0 Indeed, that may be the reason our anxious patients steadfastly come to us looking for clarification.\u00a0 The key entanglement here is within the name, World, Wide, Web<\/strong>.
\nWorld<\/strong>–\u00a0 Our health is directly linked to our community, our local environment.\u00a0 The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the environmental pollutants we are exposed to, and so forth.\u00a0 Looking for solutions to our health problems in a world that does not closely resemble that which we live in, can pose serious dilemmas.
\nWide<\/strong>–\u00a0 The answers we find on the internet are wide, not specific.\u00a0 People don\u2019t typically search by the name of the disease, they search by symptoms.\u00a0 \u2018Blood in stool\u2019, \u2018worse headache of my life\u2019, \u2018lump in my throat.\u2019\u00a0 The reason being, they don\u2019t know the name of the diseases associated with such symptoms.\u00a0 Generally, health websites such as Mayo Clinic, WebMD, Wikipedia, Medicinet offer a comprehensive discussion on a particular symptom.\u00a0 You\u2019ll likely find a search for lump in throat<\/em>\u00a0 produces a 15 item list of all the associated conditions, including lymphoma.\u00a0 Is that helpful? No.\u00a0 Is that scary? Yes.
\nWeb<\/strong>–\u00a0 By definition, a web is a complex system of interconnected elements, especially one perceived as a trap or danger.1\u00a0 Enough said.
\nSo next time you notice that your health has changed in any way, keep your doctor in mind, not your computer.\u00a0 If it\u2019s in the middle of the night, you\u2019re too afraid to wake him or her up, and must imminently look up a question, go to a trusted site, such as Uptodate.com. \u00a0 There are no advertisers and no drug company propaganda.\u00a0 Only sound, reliable advice to most of your health questions. Spend no more than five to ten minutes reading the discussion, and don\u2019t let yourself get entangled from one site to another.\u00a0 More beneficial though is to search this site after<\/em> your visit with the doctor, once you have a diagnosis or two in hand, when you can learn more about your condition.\u00a0 Your doctor may already have reliable reading material on hand, don\u2019t be shy to ask.\u00a0 This is a fine example of being a proactive participant in your healthcare decisions, which I guarantee will lead to better health outcomes.
\nStay healthy and well.
\nDr. Nasimeh Yazdani<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re all too familiar with the search for that quick answer for our myriad of health questions on the omnipresent Google or WebMD.\u00a0 I confess, I have gone there too.\u00a0 Not a day goes by in the day to day care of patients in my private practice, that I face the popular phrase, \u201cDoctor, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Why the World Wide Web Isn't The Best Place for Diagnosis","_seopress_titles_desc":"When you're feeling ill, going to the doctor feels inconvenient, but the computer is right there. Don't rely on the internet, though!","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seasidemedicalpractice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}