THE whole wide world of the Internet can be a boon, and a bane. Especially when you access medical information.
The Internet offers an overload of information which can help, as well as obstruct. The advantage is that it increases awareness, and could lead to an early diagnosis and treatment of a potentially harmful condition.
However, on the downside, all that data may not necessarily be verified or accurate; in fact, some of it could be misinformation, and this could cause you more anxiety and make you feel worse.
The overload of information has been called infodemic which the World Health Organisation has described as “too much information including false or misleading information in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak. It causes confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can harm health. It also leads to mistrust in health authorities and undermines the public health response”.
‘Dr Google’ and social media are increasingly becoming a substitute for the real doctor when someone is feeling unwell and this is triggering what has been termed as the IDIOT Syndrome.
It stands for Internet Derived Information Obstruction Treatment (IDIOT) where a person blindly trusts the information provided on the Internet and starts to self-medicate. It is medically also termed as cyberchondria which refers to a clinical phenomenon in which repeated Internet searches regarding medical information result in excessive concerns about physical health.
Cyberchondria is positively associated with symptoms of health anxiety.
Besides causing depression and fear among the people, the IDIOT Syndrome is causing doctors stress as the patients refuse to divulge the medication they have taken on the ‘advice’ of ‘Dr Google’.
This is not to say that there are no websites that offer good, resourceful and accurate information. But sensible thinking is called for here.
It is also important to remember that each patient is different and it would be foolhardy to think that ‘Dr Google’ can suggest one remedy that fits all.
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