The Web and Self Diagnosis

Let's face it, even if you have group plan health insurance, running to the doctor for every ache and pain can be costly. With the average co-payment cost of $25.00, in these bleak economic times we have all begun looking for ways to cut costs. Heck, even our time has become so precious that we avoid scheduling appointments with our health care providers, because it means taking time away from work because we simply can't afford it. Unless you are amongst the lucky Americans whose employer offers paid time off for medical appointments, this is a reality for most.

Self diagnosis is on the rise and has become common practice for most of us. With a quick click of a button in a Google search, performed in the privacy of your own home and at your convenience, you can research your own symptoms. There are many tools available to us that allow the research of symptoms and offer treatment information. There are even online pharmaceutical companies offering low-cost drugs; so why spend the extra time and money to seek professional in-person advice?

The answer is simple: Self diagnosis can be a very dangerous practice!

Contrary to popular belief, doctors do not just take your money and send you home to care for yourself with over-the-counter medications. It has become standard practice by health care professionals to document your blood pressure, your weight, temperature and the symptoms that brought you in. The doctor will ask you a series of questions about your general health and how long your symptoms have been present. Let's face it, they are doctors. They have training and experience in diagnosing symptoms. Yes, on occasion they have been wrong. But then again, who hasn't?

Your doctor has access to resources and information that you just can't get from the web and based on the initial assessment, can order x-rays, blood tests and take cultures to rule out certain illnesses before writing a prescription. With self diagnosis, you expose yourself to higher risks of misdiagnosis and over-diagnosis. What if you mistake a cancerous growth for a mole, or visa-versa? You risk subjecting yourself to more serious complications in the long run, and can work yourself into a state of hypochondria.

Having access to medical libraries and websites like WebMD, might be exhilarating as you dive into the information, forming a sub-conscious mental image of yourself portraying "Doogie Howser", "Marcus Welby" or "House", but remember, you are not a doctor and don't have the knowledge or experience to assess every aspect of your condition.

Leave the diagnosis to trained medical professionals! In the long run, the time and money you spend, is worth it.