Three reasons why googling your symptoms is a bad idea

Over the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic saw a shift in how healthcare is delivered with many people accessing their providers and other services online. But, trying to bypass professional care by diagnosing and treating illnesses by yourself based on information you read you on the internet, could have dangerous consequences. Here are three reasons why Dr Google’s expertise on your symptoms may be unwise.

Diseases are very complex

Many diseases share common symptoms, making them very complicated to diagnose based on the information you find on the internet. According to Noorani Health Medical Center, symptoms tend to overlap and without the proper context and expertise, it is impossible and dangerous to try to determine the real cause of your symptoms. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that just because you are familiar with certain symptoms doesn’t mean they will always have the same cause.

Increased fear and anxiety

You spot a strange rash on your arm, and naturally you decide to search it on Google. You soon fall into the rabbit hole of information around the rash and how it could either be nothing to worry about or the start of a debilitating medical condition. An article on Healthline states:

So, while the possibility for experiencing this increased anxiety related to internet searches for medical diagnoses and information may not be necessary, it sure is common.

You can’t do the job of a doctor

The simple reason why you shouldn’t try to diagnose yourself is that you are nor a doctor. Doctors undergo more than seven-years of training to do what you think Google can help you with. Noorani Medical Center explains:

Without proper medical training, you don’t have the context you need to understand how your symptoms fit into the larger picture of your health. You aren’t trained to know how common some diseases are or what other defining symptoms they come with.

Sources Used:

Healthline: Anonymous Nurse: Please Stop Using ‘Dr. Google’ to Diagnose Your Symptoms

Noorani Medical Center:Why You Should Never Google Your Symptoms

Vancouver Sun:Taleen Lara Ashekian: The rise of ‘Dr. Google,' the risks of self-diagnosis and searching symptoms online

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