Volume 20 No 22 (2022)
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The danger of self-diagnosis and searching for symptoms online
Shireen Banu, Dr. D. Subhashini
Abstract
One-third of adults in the United States self-diagnose, and a sizeable portion of people go online for
information on medical symptoms they are having. It is unknown how frequently people hunt up
information about their symptoms before having a formal medical diagnosis, despite the fact that polls
are notoriously unreliable. The main objective of this study was to examine any potential repercussions
of using websites for self-diagnosis. For this study, we collected searches made on a general-purpose
internet search engine by US residents who self-reported having one of 20 medical illnesses. We focused
on diseases with clear symptoms or both that don't receive normal medical care or screening. As a
result, they are often discovered following a careful investigation of particular symptoms.We counted
the number of these people who looked for indicators of their condition before receiving a formal
diagnosis. Through the use of a survey questionnaire, the familiarity of laypeople with the symptoms
associated with these disorders was also assessed. Despite the fact that information regarding potential
diagnoses and how to treat them has already been made available through books and pamphlets, the
development of self-diagnosis websites is unique for a number of reasons. According to our research, a
wide range of people research their symptoms online before seeking a formal medical diagnosis. This
finding has important repercussions for medical problem screening systems
Keywords
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