We all turn to the internet for answers—it’s second nature for many. After all, what can’t Google answer? Even the most bizarre questions seem to have an answer waiting, no matter how unexpected they are.
However, while the internet provides quite the assortment of answers—even to questions we don’t yet know exist, it has been proven pretty dangerous, and outright unhealthy to Google search your symptoms. Relying on Google for medical advice has led many down a rabbit hole of unnecessary panic. Speaking from experience, if search results were accurate, many of us would have been declared terminal long ago.
That said, while the saying goes, “A word to the wise is enough,” I, for one, would much rather get the full breakdown of why googling my symptoms is a terrible idea than just a simple “don’t do it.” I blame it on curiosity—after all, curiosity has killed many cats, but I’ve never heard of ‘curiosity killed the man.’ So, why is it truly a bad idea to google your symptoms? Here you why.
First, let’s talk about the mental adrenaline that comes with online symptom-checking. Here’s what happens; you get a mild headache, Google it, and suddenly convince yourself you have a brain tumour. No? Just me? Well, I have always been imaginative that’s for sure.
But here’s the thing, the internet has a special way of taking the most innocent symptoms—a slight cough—linking them to the most dramatic diagnoses. What starts as a harmless search for ‘Why does my throat feel scratchy?’ can quickly turn into a doom-filled pit of ‘early signs of throat cancer,’ and just like that, you’re sorting through medical jargon in silence, panicking over worst-case scenarios, and possibly writing your will.
And let’s not even get started on the quality of medical advice all over the internet. The issue isn’t that medical information isn’t available—it’s that too much of it is unreliable. You might land on a legitimate medical site, or you could end up on a random forum where someone’s aunt swears hot garlic water cures everything from migraines to broken bones.
Here is the issue; medical information online often lacks context which is much needed for a legitimate diagnosis. A doctor doesn’t just look at one symptom; they analyze patterns, medical history, and a ton of other factors before making a diagnosis, meanwhile, Dr. Google will give you everything from mild allergies to impending doom, and it won’t tell you which one is more likely simply because there is no context provided and thus no way of it telling which exact one you are most likely facing.
The worst part, however, is that Googling symptoms can make you hesitate to seek real medical attention when you truly need it. It’s a classic case of false reassurance or unnecessary panic. Maybe you convince yourself that your persistent stomach pain is just stress, only to find out later that it was something far more serious that needed medical attention weeks ago. Or maybe you rush to the emergency room over a harmless muscle twitch that some web forum convinced you was a neurological disorder.
Either way, self-diagnosing based on an internet search can lead to either negligence or unnecessary panic, neither of which is good for your health—or your sanity for that matter.
So, what should you do instead? Well, that’s pretty simple—see a doctor. I know, I know, doctors aren’t always as conveniently available as Google, and quite frankly sometimes you just don’t want to go through the hospitalization process altogether, but believe me, no search engine can replace an actual medical professional who can assess your symptoms in person.
If you’re truly curious about a particular health concern, look up information from reliable sources like the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Mayo Clinic, but even then, let it be just for knowledge, not for self-diagnosing.
At the end of the day, Google is an amazing tool for many things—learning new skills, finding obscure facts, even figuring out how to get that something you forgot but now need urgently (there’s even a guide on how to drink water properly in case you forget). But diagnosing yourself? That’s where you should draw the line because if the internet had its way, every sneeze would be the flu, every headache would be a tumour, and every stomach ache would be a medical emergency. So, do yourself a favour—step away from Dr. Google and talk to a real doctor instead. Your peace of mind will thank you.
