4 in 5 people search Google for symptoms to avoid seeing a doctor

More and more people are consulting Doctor Google for medical advice instead of visiting a GP. 

New research has found four in five people regularly search for symptoms on the internet to avoid visiting a doctor.

But GP Mary-Anne Lancaster said a computer is not substitute for a doctor’s visit.

‘There’s nobody there to decide which symptoms are relevant,’ Dr Lancaster said.

‘You can put in a symptom and come up with anything between a sore toe, anemia, or cancer.’

Dr Lancaster said people staying informed is a good thing, but the regular precautions for reading information off the internet apply.

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