A
wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human
blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from
his illnesses. --Hippocrates
Daily,
the numbers of Web sites increase by the millions; and every day the
number of Internet users grows.
More and more, these Internet surfers are looking for answers
about their illnesses on the Web; and more and more, there’s reason
to wonder whether the Internet is a hot spot for dated and inaccurate
medical information and snake oil cures.
On
the Web, non-approved drugs and unproven remedies stand parallel with
legitimate medicines. Some
Web sites offer information guided by commercial or political
interests. Surfers have discovered self-care on the Web, but the
information they’ve found can sometimes be misleading or harmful.
Your
health is precious. It
shouldn’t be risked by wrong information or improper medication.
The value of the Internet lies in its usefulness as a cross
check on questionable medical advice and as a source of information
that the doctor didn’t have time to give you.
The
Health On the Net Foundation was
created in 1995 to guide lay persons or non-medical users and medical
practitioners to useful and reliable online medical and health
information.
WebMD
is probably the leading health portal on the Web.
Included among their multiple facilities, WebMd has a
health-related news center and the day’s live events.
You can even create your own, private, online medical record.
Their
Health and Wellness section contains links to Food and Nutrition,
Parenting and Pregnancy, Women, Men, Aging, Sports and Fitness,
Lifestyle, Health TV, and Shopping on WebMD. Visitors can
subscribe and become members, without charge, and avail themselves of
a number of free services, including getting information about live
events, joining member communities, keeping a medical profile and
getting a health risk appraisal.
An
important consideration when seeking medical information on the
Internet is credibility. Can
you rely on the accuracy of what you read?
As Thomas Lombardo, editor of WebMD wrote:
For
WebMD's content mission, "Buyer beware" is not good
enough.
We've established a set of ethical guidelines that strive to provide
users with news and information on WebMD which is accurate,
thorough, and credible. This code of ethics is drawn from the two
leading professional journalism societies: The Society of
Professional Journalists and the Online News Association. Be aware,
however, that any information on WebMD or any other Internet site
should not be construed as advice for your particular health
situation and that you should always consult your health care
professional before acting on any information seen on WebMD or any
other Internet site.
Another
reliable Web site with a few additional features, both useful and
different, is Health
A to Z. Their Health Trackers make it possible for a visitor with a
particular condition to keep track of the important things related to
his or her condition. For
instance, if you had diabetes, you could use the tracker to keep a
running record of your blood sugar, weight, medications, exercise and
meal times.
Health
A to Z also features a fitness center.
Following their Getting Started section, which includes a
fitness assessment and tips for getting in shape, the Center has
useful information in a number of different categories.
These include cardio/ strength training, recreational sports, a
mind/body section, nutritional information, exercise demos and experts
available for questions.
The
Mayo Clinic has a
site that includes
information on Diseases and Conditions as well as Drug Information.
Beyond that, they have an interesting section called Take
Charge of Your Health. There
you can find a Personal
Health Scorecard, Healthy
Lifestyle Planners, Disease
Self-Managers, Health
Decision Guides and Newsletter
Sign-up. These
are all interactive facilities.
The
World Health Organization
supplies
country-by-country information about local health conditions, disease
outbreaks, current emergency situations and advice for people traveling
between various countries.
The
Web has a number of sites devoted to mental health, the most prominent
of which is Internet Mental
Health. They supply extensive information on mental disorders,
treatments and research. What’s more, they have on-line diagnostic programs that can
be used to diagnose Anxiety Disorders, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder, Eating Disorders, Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolar
Disorder), Personality Disorders, Schizophrenia and Substance-Related
Disorders.
The
site also has an online Mental Health magazine that carries articles
from professional journals, booklets from professional organizations,
books, news and editorials, along with links to other mental health
sites.
Believers
in alternative medicine will enjoy browsing through the Good
Health Preview Directory with hundreds of different alternative
approaches to ailments and health cures.
As
a vast storehouse of sites, Yahoo
Health has 50 categories of health related sites as well as
providing search facilities for Disease, Condition or General Health
Topics and Drugs or Medication.
On
its main page, Yahoo has fifty categories of health-related topics
with multiple links. For example, they list an amazing 8389 sites about diseases and
conditions. Another 1253 sites have been included under 'pharmacies' for
information about drugs and medication. They also have 515 links
to sites about alternative medicine.
None of these sites has been reviewed for reliability or
competence.
If
you want to locate additional information about your symptoms,
diagnosis or medication, these are useful places to begin.
An
excellent way to keep up-to-date on health news is to visit and
bookmark the CNN Health site.
In addition to current stories, they run articles on recent
findings on various medical conditions.
They also feature the latest news on diet and fitness.
The CNN service is offered in conjunction with WebMD.
Reuters
now has a site devoted to health news. They have a 'Health
eLine' for the consumer, 'Industry Briefing' for the health industry
and 'Medical News' for the professional. They also have a 'medline' to
The National Library of Medicine, which provides access to PubMed with
over 11 million citations from MEDLINE and additional life science
journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full
text articles and other related resources.
Reuters
also has a searchable drug database with Monographs that include:
pronunciation, generic and brand name drugs, therapeutic category,
action, indications, contraindications, dosing, interactions, lab test
interferences, warnings, adverse reactions, and precautions.
Another
news service providing a health page is The
New York Times. They
present a daily update of Health stories.
The
Los Angeles Times
also has an active Health portal carrying daily news articles.
The articles are arranged under a number of categories
including Medicine, Fitness, Nutrition, Consumer Health, Senior’s
Health, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Kid’s Health, and
Alternative Health.
The
Open Directory Project has
probably the largest database of Health links at its site.
They’re organized in 31 different categories from Aging to
Women’s Health. Clicking
on Women’s Health takes the surfer to comprehensive links on
organizations, resources and support groups.
Mohandas
Gandhi said, "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of
gold and silver." Those
who make the online journey to the right health sites on the Web will
find a great deal of Gandhi’s real wealth.
