Cyberchondria

A cyberchondriac is a person who...

• is always worried

• Tries to find what illness they have on the internet.

• reads a lot about medicine

• Prescribe medicine for others

Doctor David Hilden thinks people ...

• Often reach erroeneous conclusions about their symptoms

• Look for symptoms online too often

• Are sometimes sicker than they may think.

• Believe are more clever than their doctors

Doctor Hilden...

• Has been an expert on cyberchondria for a long time

• has known cyberchondria only for a short time

• Thinks that cyberchondria is becoming less prevalent.

• Does not care for cyberchondria.

He says Cyberchondria causes people...

• To be distress and ask doctors for unnecessary tests.

• Don't go to the doctors when they need to.

• To ask for medicine they don't need.

• To panic and visit their doctors too often

He spends a considerable amount of time...

• Prescribing unncessary medicine.

• Making sure patients don't pay attention to the internet.

• Telling patients that they don't have the illness they think they have

• Telling patients which websites they can visit.

According to the doctor the internet is beneficial because

• People learn what symptoms they should be worried about

• People can get an idea of what illness they have

• People learn about how to have a healthy lifestyle.

• It may replace doctors in the future.

Hilden says the internet can also...

• help prevent illnesses

• provide information about medicine.

• be a substitute for going to the doctor

• Be a tool to help people in rural areas.