Don't you ever worry about medical advice from Yahoo Answers?

Question

I know this is a forum for people who like to help others and that most advice is given with the best of intentions but on medical issues why do people ask advice without knowing if the advisors are qualified and why do people give advice as if they were teachers or doctors even when they don't know what they are talking about.

Doesn't anyone worry, for example, about giving dietry advice totally inappropriate for someones medical condition and by doing so perhaps making them ill?

Obviously some answers are totally wrong because they vary so much on each question and from 2 opposite answers they cannot both be right, but they never vary in the confidence of those who answer.

For example you will see lots of people answer diabetes questions by recommending a diet including fresh fruit. They would be correct for a healthy person but for a type 2 diabetic the fructose is just as damaging as sucrose and fresh fruit or juice is not good for type 2 diabetics.

Doc mentioned that fruity is good for diabetics. I looked it up and he is right although fruit juice is not good. Thanks doc. It goes to prove what I said, that people can be sure of something, as I was about fruit, but not sure enough to be qualified to advise you about your health, because I was wrong.

Answer 1

You have made an excellent point. Most medical advice is given by people who don't know a turnip from a turtle.And most (including 'nurses') have inadequate diagnostic training. Each patient needs an evaluation and specific details for diagnoses, as well as a physical examination and appropriate laboratory work. I work under difficult conditions as we lack most of the high tech facilities of the US but it is by training, observations, histories of the patients that we make diagnosis in the field. Are we always right....NO! But medical advice given by someone with no knowledge is more dangerous than our educated attempt. I would much enjoy seeing these people in action in an ER or better in a small rural hospital in Tibet. They would be helpless. But the Hippocratic Oath states that a doctor should do no harm to the patient...do these people who offer advice follow the same edict?

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Heck no. I never worry. It's incumbent on the reader to check out his sources. If someone gets ill from advice they took from someone else on Answers, that's simply Darwin's theory at work.

There's nothing wrong with a type two eating fresh fruit. I do it every day. Sugar is not nearly as big a problem for us type twos as carbohydrates. As long as we keep our total carb and sugar calories where they belong, exercise regularly, and take the necessary medication, everything works just peachy.

BTW, the above answer prompts me to say, doctors, nurses, and dietitians are human too. That's why I usually encourage readers to do their homework. In a few weeks time, you can learn as much or more about diabetes than most health care professionals. Never trust your doctor when it comes to your health. Always get a second, or even a third, opinion. Research is the key here. You can never know too much when it comes to your health.

Answer 4

Not really. I know what my Dr tells me and I like to see what some of these ppl say on here. Me, myself have had diabetes for 34 years and like to learn from others. I am a Type 1 and so is my 18 year old daughter. I will tell the Dr some of these options and ask him what he thinks of them and he will tell me if their wright or wrong. It can get to be a very involved conversation! And I will be the 1st to tell anyone I know nonething about Type 2 diabetes

Answer 5

The web contains a great deal of misinformation.
I would count on my doctor being right before I would take the advice of anybody on the internet.... Far beyond Yahoo! Answers. If you are concerned, get a second opinion from a doctor who can look at you, eye to eye.

Good luck

Answer 6

All advice must be taken "with a grain of salt", so to speak... even a regular doctor's advice! That's why people get a "second opinion" sometimes, heh.

But, asking questions on a forum like this can open people up to new ideas they never thought of before. Of course, all such ideas should be followed up by asking proper medical personel first... but sometimes people's lives get saved this way! :)

Answer 7

You are wrong about the fruit. If the calories are included in the diet, it is very healthy for any diabetic. Do some reading.

Answer 8

Yahoo Answers is not the best place to get answers for your medical condition. The only one you should really ask about your health or medical condition is your own doctor. However general questions are ok.

Answer 9

Sometimes it is good to hear someone elses opinion or thoughts, but should never be considered as a self diagnosis or cure. A person should always go see their doctor if they are concerned about their health.

Answer 10

Honestly, I question the intelligence of the people who come here for medical advice. If someone has a medical question, their first thought should be consulting a doctor, not going to an online question and answer site!!