When you receive medical check-up (MCU) results or feel certain symptoms, typing those symptoms into a search engine is often the first reflex. Looking for information is indeed normal and can be useful. However, drawing your own conclusions about your health condition from the internet alone carries many risks.

General Information Does Not Know Your Condition

Articles on the internet are written for a general audience, not for your specific body. One and the same symptom can be caused by many different things, from the mild to those that need attention. Without a direct examination, your health history, and a thorough assessment, general information is easily misinterpreted.

In addition, search results often highlight the most frightening possibilities, even though these are not necessarily the most likely to happen to you.

The Risks of Drawing Your Own Conclusions

Diagnosing yourself from the internet can create several problems:

  • Excessive anxiety from reading about the worst possibilities
  • A false sense of calm that delays getting a genuinely important complaint checked
  • Attempting self-treatment that is not necessarily suitable or safe
  • Misplaced focus, so that the real cause is actually missed

Sources on the internet also vary greatly in quality. Not all of them are accurate, and some are even meant to sell a particular product.

How to Use the Internet in a Healthy Way

This does not mean that looking for information is bad. The wiser approach is to use it to understand terms and prepare questions, not to draw conclusions. Choose trustworthy sources, and treat the information you find as material for discussion with a doctor, not as the final answer.

If you come across something that worries you, note it down and ask about it directly. A doctor can connect general information to your actual condition, something a search engine cannot do.

This article is intended to help you understand, not to replace an examination or diagnosis. Everyone's condition is different and is best assessed by a doctor in person. If something is weighing on your mind, do not hesitate to consult a doctor, including a 20FIT doctor.