After reading this weeks on line class articles, it really made me realize how beneficial the Internet has become to medical standards for the every day human being. Before the Internet, we actually had to go to see a doctor, yuck!
In the article speaking about addiction, it showed me how scary an addiction to thew Internet can be. The addiction is based upon the convenience and importance to the user, there are so many options on line to become addicted to. One great example is Web MD and other Internet medical doctors, as I'll refer to them. In the article the author talked about how his daughter was bitten by a tick, and he used the Internet to figure out how to get it off of her head. He used one of these Internet doctors and within minutes was able to get the tick removed. I remember as a child i had a tick, and my parents argued about how to get rid of it, asked neighbors and even called relatives to see how to deal with it. It took between 20 to 30 minutes to get the tick removed. Because of how fast he was able to cope with the medical problem he was forced to act upon a minor problem he prevented it from becoming a major medical problem. This is a good example of how the Internet has improved the quality of life of it's users. On the flip side, the convenience of using such Internet tools can always prevent people from getting correctly diagnosed of their problem. When I injured my knee at the beach this summer, instead of going to a doctor, i entered my symptoms into the Web MD search thing and thought i may have torn a major ligament in my knee. It ended up only being a minor tear, it still needed surgery and if i were to continue to move normal on it, it could have become a major problem.
Moving on from Internet medical doctors, another closely related topic for discussion is actually discussion groups for parents of the medically ill along with the collection of information about diseases. I couldn't imagine if an offspring of mine was diagnosed with an illness or condition that limited their everyday activity, i would have no idea what to do. The Internet is a great way to gather information on the situation and help with knowledge and techniques during the process. I'm sure it had proven invaluable to families in related situations world wide. Also, another great way the Internet helps in such situations is the related discussion groups. In the article he talks later that a user posts on line in a community about their child that was diagnosed with leukemia. The ability for these people to communicate with others in the same boat can help them cope and understand.
These two examples are excellent examples of how the Internet has improved the quality of life for numerous Internet users. Convince and practical usage has moved many people to get and share medical information through a chord and pages with typing on them. As a warning, I emphasis the importance to always be correctly diagnosed by a professional with a legitimate medical background and education.
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3 comments:
I almost posted a blog just like this. I know that anytime I start feeling sick or think something is wrong with me I search the internet for the answer. In my case I find that many time the research has me worrying about problems and illnesses that I do not have. It plays on my imagaination and probably others as well. I think it is great that there is information and knowledge available for conveience. I do agree with you that it is probably best to see a professional to be correctly diagnosed.
The internet has truly helped the common person who does not feel like going to the doctor or does not have the money to go. Many times I have typed in my symptoms on the internet rather than going to the health center since I now highly distrust them because they misdiagnosed me last year. But even though the internet does have a mass amount of medical information, it should never be a permanent substitute for seeing a trained physician.
I understand. Everytime I get sick I think of the symptoms that I have and try to figure out whay is wrong with me. It is so much easier that driving to the doctor's office. But, althought the internet is very helpful in like every way, I would rather go and talk to somebody in person. Besides everytime I had to go to the doctors when I was little my mom would take me out to eat, so it was always worth the trip.
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