What Dr. Google Isn’t Telling You

34%. According to an article published in BMJ that is the percent chance your internet symptom search yields an accurate diagnosis.

Using more reputable sites? Good luck. In a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics researchers found even the most reputable medical information sites (Universities, Peer-reviewed, .edu sites) were only accurate around 50% of the time.

8 out of 10 us do it. We get a symptom and we google it. And Google misdiagnoses us. Then we get our affairs in order because we are certain we have a rare condition that will kill us in 48 hours.

What’s the alternative?

Glad you asked. Stop googling symptoms. If you are experiencing serious symptoms (difficulty breathing, swallowing, excruciating pain, severe blood loss etc) or something that doesn’t feel right, get to a real-life doctor quickly.

If it’s something less urgent, ask yourself this question: What is my body trying to tell me? Remember your body isn’t expressing symptoms because it is broken. It is expressing symptoms because it is trying to tell you something. But, you have to listen.

Usually it can be traced back to a surge in stress. Or maybe you’ve been eating differently, or exposed to a new chemical stressor. Maybe you’re dealing with a lot of emotional stress. Or maybe your unhealthy lifestyle finally caught up with you and you body has had enough.

Regardless of the cause of less urgent symptoms, the solution is the same. First tell a medical professional. Second work like heck to get the body healthy again.

Notice how I didn’t say cover up that symptom and hop back on the stress train. As absurd as that sounds that’s the typical medical approach. “Here take this pill and your symptoms should improve”. Now you’ve essentially put a piece of black tape over the check engine light.

Getting healthy again is going to be different for everyone. Here is a simple formula for making it happen: Eat real food, sweat more, be present (meditate/mindfulness), breathe, and take care of your nervous system (tonal chiropractic).

Stop googling symptoms. Start googling cat memes.