I've found an abundance of health related information at my fingertips via the Internet. But as a result of some old fashioned research, you know: the library, paper articles, that sort of thing; I also found out that not all health care information on the Internet conforms to professional guidelines for care. Caution is advised when seeking health advice on the Internet, perhaps more so than when one is just looking for a new recipe or buying a book.
When we seek information on the Internet, search engines enable us to find what we are looking for more readily. However, finding good, credible health care information requires some effort, and when good sites are found, bookmarking them for future reference is warranted. There are, primarily, two ways to start a search for health information: with the name of the disease or disorder you are interested in, or at a good web site with general health information. The former often provides so much information that wading through it is tedious and fruitless. The latter may offer general information but not address new treatments or medications we are interested in learning more about. Therefore, a combination of searching on a narrowly focused topic and checking out some specific sites often works best.
Another way to keep up with the latest health information is to subscribe to health information services on the Internet. Many are springing up as the public interest in this type of information grows. Johns Hopkins hosts the Intelihealth web site http://www.intelihealth.com from which you can subscribe to their professional or lay persons health update; both are automatically sent to your email inbox when you subscribe. Keeping up with health information becomes no more difficult than turning on your computer and reading your email. An added feature is the embedded uniform resource locators (URLs), or links that you can copy and paste to your browser, or just click if you use your browser to read mail, for more information.
Parents, especially new parents, often have questions about their child's health or normal growth milestones. Dr. Greene's Housecall http://www.drgreene.com is one way to have your questions answered either through browsing the site or mailing in a question. He also has live chat sessions where parents and teens can ask questions. KidsHealth is also a great page http://www.kidshealth.org for child health information.
For kids with chronic health problems, BandAids and Blackboards http://funrsc.fairfield.edu/~jfleitas/contents.html is the project of a nurse who has created a forum for kids to learn about others who share the concerns and challenges of managing a chronic illness while going to school. Well-designed and very kid friendly, there are different areas addressing the needs of children and teens.
Want to review the latest guidelines for keeping your family healthy? Point your browser to Dr. Koop's Community http://www.drkoop.com and click on a picture to learn more about children's, men's or women's health care or healthy aging. The Family Health Plan Advisor helps you think through the decision about which type of health care plan (health insurance) is for you.
Familiar non-profit organizations have some of the best web sites on specific diseases and include: American Heart Association http://www.amhrt.org , American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org, and American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org. One of the things I like about these sites are the quizzes you can take to find out more about your risk for these diseases and how you can live a healthier lifestyle.
Mental Health also has a home on the Net at http://www.mhnet.org. With resources on a variety of mental disorders, the latest news, chat rooms and professional links, this comprehensive page boasts that it is the oldest mental health resource on the net. Comprehensive information about stress, and a brief quiz to check your stress level can be found at Stress-less http://www.stress-less.com/aboutsl/stresslinks.html. For persons with a rare disorder, National Organization for Rare Disorders NORD http://www.rarediseases.org has a large number of links to information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Some of the diseases aren't rare just poorly understood and many of the links offer support to sufferers and their loved ones. When the diagnosis is unexpected and not much is known about the condition, NORD is a great place to start to become informed.
For exercise and fitness buffs, Thrive Online http://www.thriveonline.com offers information on the proper way to exercise and includes information on energy, healing, and beauty. Those who are more inclined to reach for an herb than a drug for what ails them should proceed cautiously but check out Alternative Health Links Page http://mem.tcon.net/users/5010/2041/h-links.htm for a comprehensive page of links to alternative health web sites. The Alternative Medicine Homepage hosted by University of Pittsburgh http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html offers another approach to this topic of interest to many.
Travelers who plan to visit other countries can get up-to-the-minute details on vaccines required and recommended by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) site http://www.cdc.gov . Clicking on Traveler's Health the visitor will find a treasure trove of information including geography-specific recommendations for immunizations, water and food precautions, cruise ship inspection information, and the location of disease outbreaks. When visiting government sites such as Social Security http://www.ssa.gov, the IRS http://www.ustreas.gov/irs/, and the CDC it is helpful to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the documents offered in portable document format (.pdf). The reader is free and instructions for downloading and installing it can be found at the Adobe web site http://www.adobe.com.
You don't have to venture far from home, even on the Internet. Guadalupe Valley Hospital's web site http://www.gvh.com has information about local health care providers, classes offered at the hospital, jobs available, even a map so that you'll know where you're going before you leave home.
As we've seen, health information resources on the Internet are available on a variety of topics. The information you find is not a substitute for a competent opinion from your usual source of health care; it doesn't replace your relationship with your health care provider. The best way to use the information you find is to share it with your physician or nurse practitioner. Not all treatments are right for the condition you may have and your practitioner will know which ones you should avoid.
When not enjoying the diverse offerings on the Internet, Dr. Bischoff teaches at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Watch the progress on the home she is building with her husband in Seguin at: http://home.earthlink.net/~whitneyb. Whitney Bischoff can be contacted at whitneyb@earthlink.net, http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/~bischoff/
To contribute to the Internet Beat column, contact column coordinator Gloria R. Rivera, 303-4764, fax 372-1418, riverag@connecti.com http://www.seguin.net