Online Medical Advice

I've been running a fever now for almost a week and today found out that I've had the flu and can expect to feel this way for another week or more...thrilling. This is the first time I've had it in years, but I haven't had a flu shot in all that time either, so I don't think it's going to change my mind about the shots. Anyway, I went to the doctor to find all this out and she sends me off with a whole stack of information that she'd printed off the internet. This made me think of this article from Salon which discusses some doctors' aversion to patients looking for answers online. They say that, in part, it's because of bad advice. This is valid, I hate Wikipedia as much as the next guy. Still, there's a large part of this that challenges doctors as the first authority and they don't like having their toes stepped on.

I'm glad my doctor doesn't feel this way. First, I don't want to have to talk to her for that long. More importantly, though, this information comes from seemingly valid sources and the information is totally helpful in keeping your help in perspective. The flu is completely minor, I know, but she did the same thing when I hurt my back and when my face melted off. I could never go to a doctor who wouldn't allow me freedom of information. That seems crazy.