Have you been looking for information about your new diagnosis on the internet? If you have, here are a few words of caution, "Not All Internet Health Information Is Created Equal." It would be wise never to take the first internet health information you come across at face value.
I spent many years as an obstetrical nurse, and I can't even begin to tell you the number of times patients asked me questions regarding information found on the internet that turned out to be complete myths. The problem with "Old Wives Tales" plastered all over the internet is that they can actually be harmful to your health.
Several years ago I had a patient show up in triage vomiting profusely. She was around 30 weeks gestatio
n. Initially, I thought she had contracted a virus; however, as I began to question her the story became really bizarre. It seems she was extremely sensitive to cold, and the weather had been quite chilly for several days. In an attempt to warm herself up the patient looked to the internet for information. Well, she found it. I was in utter disbelief to realize the patient had ingested four jars of Vicks VapoRub® for the purpose of "melting the chill off her bones." I won't elaborate on the rest of the story other than to say the patient was extremely sick for several days due to misguided information.
As you can see, internet health information should always be approached with caution. Any and all information that requires the ingestion of a substance should be carefully scrutinized and discussed with your physician. If you do not understand how to identify fact from fiction on the internet, I have created a simple guide available for free referred to as The COPC Patient Guidelines to WWW. This guide will allow you to easily navigate internet health sites to determine their validity.
I spent many years as an obstetrical nurse, and I can't even begin to tell you the number of times patients asked me questions regarding information found on the internet that turned out to be complete myths. The problem with "Old Wives Tales" plastered all over the internet is that they can actually be harmful to your health.
Several years ago I had a patient show up in triage vomiting profusely. She was around 30 weeks gestatio
n. Initially, I thought she had contracted a virus; however, as I began to question her the story became really bizarre. It seems she was extremely sensitive to cold, and the weather had been quite chilly for several days. In an attempt to warm herself up the patient looked to the internet for information. Well, she found it. I was in utter disbelief to realize the patient had ingested four jars of Vicks VapoRub® for the purpose of "melting the chill off her bones." I won't elaborate on the rest of the story other than to say the patient was extremely sick for several days due to misguided information.As you can see, internet health information should always be approached with caution. Any and all information that requires the ingestion of a substance should be carefully scrutinized and discussed with your physician. If you do not understand how to identify fact from fiction on the internet, I have created a simple guide available for free referred to as The COPC Patient Guidelines to WWW. This guide will allow you to easily navigate internet health sites to determine their validity.
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