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The feeling of dread when you Google an unexpected symptom and your browser is filled with warnings of the need for immediate surgery and potential death is a familiar one for many of us.
So, a new thread on the entertainment website Reddit in which doctors have common symptoms which stoke fear in patients but don't need to will put many fears to rest - and save a few trips to the emergency room, too.
Medics who use the website were invited to answer the question: “What are some of the most common things that freak people out about their bodies that is totally and completely normal?”
Hundreds of medics participated, tackling common issues related everything from the genitals to lumps and mumps.
And by the tone of a handful of their answers, some of medical professionals seem fed-up with our self-diagnosis, whining and hypochondria.
Worried parents
Ageing
Genitals
Lumps
Ears
Digestion
Breasts
Periods
Masturbating
Sex Hypochondriacs also joined in on the thread, to thank medical professionals for reassuring them and to share their tips.
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Sanford Burnham Preybs
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Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients
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Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised “ideological” reasons doctors use to avoid doing so.
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Just Giving
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Nephron
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Reuters
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As the internet has made information more easily accessible than ever before, worried are able to flock to symptoms checkers.
A recent US studying assessed the accuracy of such websites from the UK, US, Netherlands and Poland.
The study published in the British Medical Journal concluded that: “For patients, our results imply that, in many cases, symptom checkers can give the user a sense of possible diagnoses, but also provide a note of caution, as the tools are frequently wrong and the triage advice overly cautious."
They added that the websites could be useful "if the alternative is not seeking any advice or simply using an internet search engine” but said further research is needed to see whether they help people make better health decisions.
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