The Danger of Symptom Searching on the Internet
One of the most popular searches on Google is for symptoms and what they mean. It’s created a much more well informed patient population, but one that may panic at the least pain or discomfort.


One of the most popular searches on Google is for symptoms and what they mean. It’s created a much more well informed patient population, but one that may panic at the least pain or discomfort.

The recent rash of extreme weather worldwide, which has killed hundreds, is making scientists wonder if we have reached a turning point more quickly than we thought. Experts explain how climate change results in droughts, floods, and other severe weather and the signals it provides of danger immediately ahead.

A new study shows that antibiotic exposure early in life could alter a child’s brain development. Then, the stress of the pandemic has led to a sharp increase in teenage eating disorders. And finally, researchers have found a potentially lifesaving heart attack treatment in a most unusual place.

Hospitals are now required to post prices for many procedures on their websites, including cash prices and what insurers pay. The intent of the federal rule is to allow patients to shop around, putting pressure on hospitals to compete on price. However, many hospitals have yet to follow the rule. Experts discuss the rule, its likely outcome, and how patients …

An expert who has studied dog bites discusses the reality of breed temperament, especially when children are around, how to prevent bites, and whether breeds with dangerous reputations deserve them.

A new study shows that people over age 70 are three times more likely than younger people to die when they fall. Older people also take more medications with a fall risk, and which pose a risk themselves when someone taking them falls. Experts discuss these complications and why it’s important to prevent falls and other injuries.

A big majority of the US workforce wants to know if their co-workers are vaccinated against Covid… but they don’t want to reveal if they’ve gotten the vaccine themselves. Then, if young adults get Covid-19, they may recover… but end up exhausted. And finally… researchers have found another risk factor for dementia—tooth loss.

More people die of lung cancer than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined. A decade ago, a lung cancer diagnosis was often a death sentence. But now treatments are being developed that mean it can often be treated, especially if screening detects it early. A patient/advocate and researcher discuss.

A study by Save the Children shows on a county-by-county basis that children in poor and rural counties, especially in the south, are much less likely to survive into adulthood, and when they do, they’re often forced to become adults too soon by poverty, pregnancy, and lack of education. A Save the Children expert discusses factors that hurt children and …

Everybody loves a home-cooked meal, but what if your stove was slowly poisoning you? Then, if you were born 200 years ago, you’d be lucky to celebrate your 40th birthday. Plus, researchers have cured diabetes in mice by putting insulin-producing cells into a tiny device. Then, older people who have trouble falling asleep are more likely to have cognitive …

Dementia has a much wider range than most people think, and people with dementia are usually functional for years. An expert discusses the course of the disease and how life can still be positive for years before it reaches the late, debilitating stage most people think of when they hear the word “dementia.”

Officials are worried we may start seeing a spike in Covid cases soon and it could become serious by fall. Then, Have you lost your sense of smell? Covid may not be to blame--it could be air pollution. Then, doctors can now use smartphone cameras to detect bacteria on the skin and in the mouth. And finally, for people suffering from hard-to-treat …
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