Cyberchondria: The Good, The Bad, and The Neurotic Side of Internet Diagnosis

In typical GeekMom fashion when someone in the family gets sick, I hit my favorite medical sites to diagnose their illness. Sometimes this helps us avoid an expensive trip to the doctor and other times it causes us to make an appointment. Since I am a bit of a hypochondriac and have just enough medical knowledge to be dangerous, I usually jump to the worst possible disease that even remotely matches the given symptoms.

I just recently diagnosed myself as a cyberchondriac, but I digress.

Our now five month old son was something of a puzzle initially. He was terribly fussy, wanting to nurse all the time, and wouldn’t sleep. So I hit the internet to see what I could find. I came across a diagnosis called silent reflux. Our son had every symptom they listed. So, with information in hand and a small sense of dread, we made an appointment with his pediatrician. There have been other times when, armed with my internet diagnosis, the pediatrician has dismissed my claims. We have since changed doctors and I was pleasantly surprised after I presented my case that our new pediatrician agreed with me. Our little man was given an antacid prescription and has been a much happier baby ever since.

Given that anyone can post anything and call it fact on the internet, I typically stick with these sites when attempting a diagnosis or researching an illness:

1. WebMD: this site has a fantastic symptom checker
2. KidsHealth: this site has tons of info, but what I like best is that there are articles geared towards the different audiences of kids, teens, and parents. You could even let your geekling help diagnose a sibling… not that I would do that, but I’m just saying.
3. Kellymom: this site has a wealth of information on breastfeeding, parenting, and various illnesses. This is the place where I first heard the term silent reflux.

So when someone in your house comes down with a mysterious ailment, do your research and present it to the doctor. The worst that can happen is getting a note in your chart that reads something like “Warning: this patient is a cyberchondriac and slightly off their rocker”. The best that can happen is that they agree with you and you have helped your family member get diagnosed and treated more quickly. I would take the note in my chart any day.