Twelve percent of parents told researchers that had consulted health and medical information on the internet before taking their child to an emergency room., Reuters Health reported on October 20, 2011. The most commonly visited websites were WebMD and Wikipedia.
The study groups consisted of 240 parents, a majority of whom said they were more likely to visit a website that was recommended by their child’s doctor.
This intersection of medicine and technology is good and bad. It is good that parents are making efforts to learn more about their child’s condition or ailment. The trend could be bad, however, if parents read inaccurate or outdated information and, as a result, allow theirchild to become worse before finally seeking medical care.
In general, do not depend on just one medical website for information. Visit a variety of sites on the same topic so you get the full breadth of information on the health topic. Also, if you find conflicting information on the topic, go ahead and visit the ER. It is better to be safe than sorry.
PA