Interview with Leah Brodie, PA
Nomi: Do you think that using the web as a diagnosing tool is a good thing or a bad thing?
Leah: I definitely think that depends. What type of diagnosing are we talking about?
Nomi: Lets start with physical ailments.
Leah: Well, anyone has access to the internet, which means that anyone who wants can post medical “blogs” and opinions online. When surfing the web for your “disease”, You may be reading what some idiot on Yahoo Answers posted when he was bored. Just last week, my eyes were dry and scratchy, so I went online to read a little bit about it. I found a source that said I might have pupil disease. There is no such thing as pupil disease.
Nomi: Oh my gosh, thats hysterical. Its a good thing you have a medical background so you knew that you didnt have some obscure decapitating disease!
Leah: So true. When patients walk into my office nerous that they are infected with something, I feel so bad for them. They are victims to what other people post online. The only way you can use the web to diagnose is if you have serious knowlege in the medical field, and unclouded judgment of your symptoms, and a reliable source.
Nomi: So what about psychological illnesses?
Leah: Using the web to treat mental issues is a serious mistake. People have real problems, like paranoia, schizophrenia, and hallucinations. I cant stress enough the number of suicides that occured because mentally ill people thought they could handle it on their own. If a person has any sort of diagnosable disorder, he should see a specialist immediately!
Nomi: what if the options are to use the internet or not get treated at all?
Leah: Again, that depends on where he is looking for help. Any legitimate medical resource will advise someone who is really ill to speak to a professional. Any site that doesn’t give this advice is probably not credible, and it would be better to do nothing than to rely on some uneducated guys opinion.
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