Seeking Online Medical Advice

Filed in archive Allergy Support Groups , Living with Allergies on August 22, 2007

I received an email (presumably from a PR staff) about a press release indicating how MedHelp has brought millions of people to a forum where they can access doctor's advice. According to the blurb I was sent:

MedHelp, the leading online health community connecting people and medical experts, now provides more than four million people monthly with a way to research medical information, share experiences in more than 100 medical forums, and get questions answered daily by partnered doctors and specialists from 14 of America's leading medical institutions.

So I went and checked the Asthma and Allergy forum and to say that it disappointing is an understatement. An anonymous staff from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center and a certain Forum-M.D.-DC answer some of the questions, but really, would you heed the advice of people who can't even put their real profiles online?

At any rate, I don't see the sense of seeking medical advice online. To seek information, perhaps solace or comfort, and share experiences in an online community is ok. That's why I love reading blogs that discuss allergies. But seeking and dishing out medical advice online (or via phone, for that matter) is not good practice in my opinion. Could be disastrous, even.

If you have allergies, or you think you have allergies, please seek a doctor... in person. Only by looking at you, talking to you, discussing with you, and perhaps performing a battery of tests, can a professional find out what's wrong with you and the best treatment strategies best for you. For you, not for the person on some message board who seems to have similar symptoms as you but for all you know has something else. Please, consult a real doctor. If you need an allergist, the AAAAI provides a directory that allows you to search for an allergist in your vicinity.