Is it normal to get medical advice from the internet?

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5 Comments

I'm asking because it seems to be pretty common here and on other Internet forums. People seem to post a lot asking for medical advice...why you would trust the opinion of some random internet person is beyond me. Not to say that I haven't seen people here give great, legit medical advice or refer people to a real physician when necessary, but COME ON! It's the internet, people could say anything! Have you ever come here for medical advice? Is it because you were embarrassed to ask your real doctor? Is asking for medical advice here a normal thing?

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70% Normal
Based on 30 votes (21 yes)
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Comments ( 5 )
  • imadragon
    9 years ago

    It's probably better to get help on a medical website in that case.

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  • Avant-Garde
    9 years ago

    Not everyone is privileged enough to be able to financially afford going to the doctor or to have health insurance.

    Some people may being into alternative medicine, and simply are trying to figure out what it is that they have so that they can treat it themselves. There's nothing wrong with that.

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  • Couman
    9 years ago

    I've done it, but not from sites like this. I'll try and research something myself on medical sites and/or Wikipedia. One time I was actually considering seeing a doctor but I found out online that my symptoms were not unusual or a big deal, so I didn't have to. (It was an allergic reaction affecting my eye.)

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  • seakelp
    9 years ago

    It's normal, but also a bad idea. Totes agree 100% OP, statistically speaking, the individual throwing out the diagnosis isn't a doctor, and even if they are, they likely lack the necessary data to diagnose properly.

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  • lc1988
    9 years ago

    I never like to look for medical advice online...even medical websites. Usually when I look up something it'll say that it's something common not to worry about or it could be cancer/worst case scenario so meh.

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