Thursday, May 11, 2006


Cyberchondriacs: "You can pick up a thousand cures for cancer, diagnose glandular fever in your tea break and identify any number of diseases likely to strike in the next 24 hours. But while the internet may be a mine of medical information, it is not always good news for your health. Concerns about people using the internet to self-diagnose - leaving GPs overwhelmed with visits from "cyberchondriacs" - has prompted doctors to set up a website offering independent and jargon-free health advice. The website, BestTreatments.co.uk, was officially announced yesterday by the British Medical Journal in an attempt to help patients struggling with myriad sources of information on symptoms and therapies on the internet. The website covers information on more than 120 different conditions ranging from long-term disorders such as cancer, back pain and depression, to acid reflux, wisdom teeth and infant colic. It not only covers symptoms, treatments and questions to ask the doctor, but current evidence on medical research."

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