Most of us have heard of hypochondria--you know the obsessive belief that you have some dreaded illness due to symptoms that you are experiencing or have developed related to that illness. But now that we have the world at our finger tips via the worldwide web, many individuals have developed a condition that health care professionals are labeling as cyberchondria.

Cyberchondria is a behavior where individuals use the web in order to gather information about their health or the health of their loved ones in order to gain a better insight into their situation many times leading these individuals to great apprehension and anxiety.

And how easy it is these days to develop such a condition with 24/7 access to such sites as the Mayo Clinic and WebMD. All’s one has to do is plug in his/her symptoms and before he/she knows it, there is a laundry list of conditions that may or may not be his/her problem.

This is exactly what happened to me a few months ago when I developed some numbness on the left side of my face. Of course instead of heading straight to the emergency room, I did what many of us do--check the web-right? As a Registered Nurse, the most obvious was a stroke or TIA (AKA-mini-stroke) but I soon compiled a list that included Bell’s Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (AKA Lou Gehrig’s) and everything in between.

After an hour of uncertainty (not wise on my part if this had been a stroke) I decided to go to the ER to be evaluated just in case. The docs were primarily concerned with a stroke or TIA--not one mentioned any of the other diseases that were floating in the back of my mind. After a series of tests-CT Scan, MRI, and blood work-and meeting with several specialists, a cardiologist and neurologist, it was determined that I did NOT have a stroke, TIA, Bell’s palsy, or any of the other illnesses I had doomed myself as having. So what was the problem? It ended up being a common migraine that had presented itself with a new aura. What a relief, but I learned a great lesson not to try to play doc myself.

So why is so cyberchodria so dangerous?

For many the web is a great source of information and knowledge, but for others it can lead to obsessive thoughts and great anxiety regarding their health. Even simple, benign symptoms can be escalated into major medical events since vague symptoms can be related to many illnesses. These individuals aren’t doing this for attention, they truly believe they suffer from some illness and need medical attention-- they need to know the ‘right’ answer.

While having access to this information is helpful, it is also very important to understand that these sites are not diagnostic in nature. Therefore, if you become anxious with your health, it is best left to your doctor or health care provider to evaluate your situation instead of allowing a website to lead you to greater apprehension.

Have you ever used a medical website to help diagnose your problem only to find more than you bargained for?