Wednesday 25 February 2009

Dr Google....anyone else googling symptoms?

I have been recently suffering from an itchy neck. No rash; not been bitten (no stray vampires round these parts); no new products; never remember to put perfume on anyway. So, I did a quick survey of the school mums (I like surveying the school mums...it's surprising, the things you can learn on a playground). "Itchy neck anyone?" No takers...we had lumpy skin on legs, itchy scalp, many instances of recurring norovirus but no joy for me. So, I did what any other normal person in need of urgent medical assistance does...consulted Dr Google. Dr Google is great; you get an appointment the same day...within seconds in fact; no sitting around with ill people waiting to be seen and he'll introduce you to his colleagues; Dr Yahoo is very esteemed, so I'm told. The reason for my pondering? Well, I've been reading those intellectual papers again! Ariel Leve depicts this phenomenon in her very astute article for the Guardian (see intellectual) and so much of it rings true; although I would contest her opinion that before t'internet people waited to see their GP for a diagnosis...she obviously has never owned a copy of Dr Mariam Stoppard's Family Health Guide. So, my itchy neck? Well Dr Google has informed me that there may be a possible 16 medical causes; Dr Expert at Netwellness.org gave me a second opinion and pointed me in the allergy direction but hey, I still have 1,398,998 other opinions to consider...

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