goodhealth.

ON TO
ne of the facts of 21st

H EALTH
specialist face-to-face, especially if you have an embarrassing problem. But it is a huge mistake to rely on the internet alone. For example, in her 20-plus years as a nutritionist and naturopath,
Teresa Mitchell-Paterson has seen a

Want to know more about that niggling symptom you get in the early hours? Bonnie Vaughan suggests you skip Dr Google and go straight to the medical websites with credentials
century life is that we get practically all our information online. ltt also where we go to seek health advice. Who hasn't run to Google when a cold has lasted more than a week or there's an inexplicable pain in your elbow? A recent US poll measuring popular
online pursuits found that 80 per cent of internet users seek health and medical information online, beating other popular cyber-pastimes such as shopping and browsing the news. Depending on how you look at it, that's either a mightily impressive figure or an extremely disturbing one. On the one hand, taking a proactive role in managing your own health is empowering. But on the other, there's

DO YOURRESEARCH
The worst thing you can do is simply type

your symptoms into your search engine and dive into the first results you find. Search for'sore throatl for instance, and
you could end up convinced you've got neck cancer. lt is imperative that you examine any research you find and cross check it back to the original source. 'Ask yourself where the information came fromi'urges Professor Moyez Jiwa, chair of health innovation at Curtin

trend

in food allergy self-diagnosis, which has

put many people at potential risk. "People draw all kinds of conclusions when they go online without getting any real substance to their symptoms,,'she says."They're often getting the wrong information. And by the time they've come to us, they've excluded so many foods they're missing out on a wide range of nutrients, which can have a significant impact on their healthl' On top of that, Mitchell-Paterson says, those who self-diagnose by Google often end up wasting more time and money than those who consult a health practitioner. "People constantly come into the practice with bags full of supplements that they've spent 5400 or $500 on after going onlinei'she says. "They'll take the

University."Who wrote it? Has it been reviewed by a healthcare professional? ls the information current?" It is also vital to separate fact from

opinion, he stresses."The internet provides some very good information if you follow some simple rulesl'

information out there that could catapult you directly from simply curious to panic-stricken. While there's nothing wrong with a little self-education, there are smart ways to search to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here's how.
a lot of misleading

GET PROFESSIONAL

ADVICE

run to the web for health advice. lt's free, it doesn't require an appointment, it's open 24/7, andit's

Itt obvious why we

less

confronting than seeing a GP or

wrong dose, they're not being monitored, there's no follow-up, and eventually they end up with us after alli'

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k
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'S.'i.

ASKYOUR DOCTOR TO GO ONLINE, TOO

ofthe greatest benefits of easy access to medical information is that GPs no longer hold all the cards. "We need to be
One

ffi%

more up-to-date and to have our computers

switched on during consultations so that we can, if necessary, search for something a patient
wishes to know about,"

And, he insists, it speeds up the

says Jiwa.

consultation process. "Using the internet

got more to recommend it than

has

to detract from it," he concludes. "lt's a

wonderfultool."

Questions to ask about health websites

Dr Peter Reaburn, associate professor in
exercise and sport science at Central

Mayo Clinic website provides search options to check your symptoms, prescription drug interactions, treatment options and much more.

Queensland University, teaches a postgraduate course on research skills

MedlinePlus

for health sciences. Here, he explains the questions we all need to ask ourselves when seeking credible health information online.

This consumer arm of the US

<1

ffso, you can feel more confident about the quality of information because those endings are associated with educational or government organisations. lf it ends in .com, be discerning, and if it's a .biz, .net or.tv, be sceptical as it usually indicates it's linked to a commercial business.

National Library of Medicine, which boasts the largest medical library

in the world, contains up-to-date

health information, interactive

tools, a rich database of diseases, conditions and treatments, and a medical dictionary to help you make sense of it all.

REPUTABTE HEALTH WEBSITES

When turning to the web for medical advice, skip Google and

6\ 4

F myDr
A project of the MIMS Consumer

Enrrr" thut the author or the site is associated with a university, a respected
organisation or a government authority.
Look for a PhD or medical or qualifications.You can usually allied health about the who is writing trust someone qualified. field in which they're

ro,rourguard should be up - they may be promoting a product.

lf so, make sure they're

rr

5 6

backed up by scientific evidence.

go directly to a website you know you can trust, and start your search from there. Below is a list of reputable sites certified bY the Health on the Net Foundation (HON), a Switzerland-based non-profi t health information review organisation. HON also has a search oPtion on its website, www.hon.ch, where you can find a site with the info you need, or check to make sure a particular site is certified.

Health Group, myDr offers articles

and information on diseases, treatments, health, fitness and medications, as well as a comprehensive search function for healthcare professionals and local patient support groups.

+ Healthlnsite
Established by the Council of Australian Governments, Healthlnsite offers a massive database of searchable health topics and all the latest health news and medical developments.

iF

Better Health Channel

lf it does, are those link credible? A.com site is more reputable if it link to .gov or .org sites.

A vi brant, easy-to-navigate resource

w U

lf itwasthree years ago or more, the information clearly isn't curren! if it was two weeks ago, then you know they're on the ball.

working with a host of reputable medical content partners and fully funded by the State Government of Victoria.The Better Health Channel app for iPhone and iPad also won a 2012 Australian Mobile Award.
tF

Mayo Clinic

The bottom line is if the content sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Founded by one of the world's most prestigious medical institutions, tn"

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