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Health Information at Your Fingertips

When it comes to our health, there is no such thing as getting too much information. Our health is after all the most precious thing we have so the more we know and the better informed we are, the better we can take care of ourselves and the people that matter to us. Getting information can be tricky because with so much of it making it’s way onto the internet, we need to know how to weed through it all so we can bypass the misleading and just wrong information and get to the truth. This doesn’t mean turning elsewhere for information, just being smart about it. Before we go on though, let me just stress that the information you find online is in no way a substitute for proper medical care or anything! Hate it as you might, you’ll still need to see a doctor if you feel that something is wrong.

The way that the internet can help us as far as our health goes is by the amount of resources that are available to us. You can pop online and visit sites offering information on all aspects of things like cancer, heart disease, stroke and more. This information has a lot to do with prevention and early detection of some diseases.  Take cancer for instance; how many of us know how to do a self-breast exam or check for skin irregularities thanks to an article we read online? And look at the number of people who have used the internet to find out about diet and exercise-both of which are known to make you healthier overall and put you at lower risk for developing all kinds of serious conditions. The internet gives offers us health resources that we can access quickly and easily which for a lot of people who don’t have the time or money to running to the doctor’s office with questions could mean the difference between life and death. You may be feeling something that isn’t quite right but aren’t sure if you should be worried about it. Sometimes looking up symptoms online and seeing the possible causes of them is what someone needs to make that doctors appointment and get checked out.

The internet has also likely saved the lives of many kids and teens because it offers them a safe and anonymous place to go for the things that they may not be cool with talking to their parents about, like sex, drugs, depression and even suicide. While no one should rely on the internet for a cure or resolution to their problem; being able to have access to websites and telephone numbers for help lines and STD clinics could very well save a young person from ignoring the problem or letting it go untreated because they don’t know where to turn or ho to go about it, meaning the difference between life and death in some cases.

As long as you look for the reputable health sites, like those run by the government or well-known organizations like the Cancer Society or the Heart and Stroke Foundation, then the internet could well be the best resource for knowledge regarding health. And since knowledge is power, I’d say it’s definitely the best way to go! Explore your options with individual health insurance online.



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