Why Googling your ill-health symptoms may be a bad idea
There is no doubt that the web is filled with information. The downside of this is that it might not be totally healthy for those that cannot discern true information from the bad ones, especially when it comes to human health. In other words, the web has as many fake information as true information.
There are also psychological aspects of information consumption when it comes to health. How many of us have noticed having one or two symptoms relating to covid19 infection since the breakout of the pandemic? I am sure we are many. When you consume information relating to ill healths, suddenly, some of the symptoms you have been noticing in your body start conforming with your newly consumed information.
A few days ago, I made a post about the challenges of having to distinguish between malarial and coronavirus symptoms using my personal experience as an example. One of the fallouts from that post is that I was left with tastelessness and inability to perceive any smell by what could be malaria/covid19 infection, even as at the time of writing it. I never really considered the condition to be serious until I decided to Google it.
Google search 1: What is the inability to perceive smells and tastes?
Lying down on my bed while facing the ceiling and holding my Samsung Tab A 2016 with my two hands, I typed-in the query into Google. It was through the response I got to know that there is a medical term for the inability to perceive smells; ANOSMIA. As expected, this condition mostly goes hand in hand with the inability to perceive tastes because of the interconnection of the tissues and organs responsible for both processes.
What actually constituted the genesis of my problem was when I discovered that this condition could be temporary or permanent, depending on the underlining condition. The conditions that could cause anosmia have been reported to include side effects of certain drugs, genetic/congenital, infections of the sinus, brain or nerve damage, and common cold. Out of all the possible underlining conditions, only the anosmia caused by side effects of drugs the common cold, and reversible infections of the sinus is touted to be temporary. This simply means that some people could be living their entire lives with the inability to taste or perceive smell. The thought seems scary!
I started permutating and combining on what could be the underlining cause of my own anosmia. Those with genetic/congenital anosmia are usually born with, this is completely ruled out in my case. Also, even though I had a common cold at the onset of my symptoms, it disappeared a few days after. In addition, the common cold has never rendered me tasteless and deprivation of smell. Common cold-associated anosmia has also been reported to last only for a few days while mine is now running into two weeks. In short, I ruled out common cold as the cause of my anosmia.
The next thing I thought of is that perhaps the anosmia is one of the side effects of the drug I used for the treatment of presumptive malaria. This led me to type-in my second query into Google:
Google search 2: Is anosmia one of the side effects of P-alaxin?
The returned search heightened my anxiousness. I combed all the results just for a pointer to anosmia but to my utmost disappointment, got nothing. P-alaxin contains Dihydroartemisinin and Piperaquine Phosphate and the side effects have been reported to include anorexia, dizziness, itching, abdominal pains, nausea, etc, but not anosmia.
Now that the side effect of the drug has also been eliminated as the possible cause of my anosmia, I am left with more severe options associated with brain or nerve damage. While working out at home a few months ago, I felt a sharp pain somewhere between my ribs and my spine. Since then, the pain has been going on/off.
Could it be that I damaged a nerve while working out? Could be that this nerve damage is the one behind my anosmia? Am I going to be paralyzed at such a young age? All forms of negative thoughts just kept running through my mind.
I also remembered that I had one nasty headache at the early onset of malaria/covid19. I have once learned that terrible headaches could be a sign of a brain tumour. Could be that I have a tumour growing somewhere in my brain? Will I be requiring surgery to remove it? How about the funding? Will my pictures be all over social media seeking for funds to perform the surgery? What will happen to my toddler?
Effects of anosmia
Out of all the negative thoughts that filled my mind, I also thought of the possibility of just remaining with the inability to taste nor perceive smells for the rest of my life without any other severe complication. I thought of how uninteresting foods have become in the past week since the onset of the condition and the thought of living the rest of my life this way seems scary.
I went out sometimes last week and decided to wear my best cologne but could not perceive even just a tiny scent of it. What if there is a gas leakage in the kitchen and I am the only one at home? What if the building I am in is on fire and I could not even perceive the smoke? A series of thoughts were just running through my mind and this almost slipped me into depression.
There is no doubt that anosmia will have a great impact on the quality of life of their victims. Perhaps if someone is born with it, this might not be a major problem. However, for someone that has lived all their life tasting different foods and perceiving different smells, it will take a significant effort to get used to the new life.
Final words
I am glad to inform my readers that partial activities as regards to tasting and smell perception have resumed in my body system and this actually gave me the strength to put together this write-up. I was too scared to visit a hospital throughout the anosmia period because of the fear of confirmation of one of the severe underlining conditions. It turns out that the condition is only temporary when in reality, I have almost led myself into depression by negative thoughts.
In whatever you decide to do while feeling unwell, Googling your symptoms might be a totally bad idea.
Thank you all for reading.
Glad to read your symptoms are abating. I remember a similar experience after a cold myself.
Searching symptoms can be horrifying, can't it! It's not helped in my house by my husband who calls "brain tumor" every time I get a headache. 😒
I wonder how many have actually died simply because they googled their symptoms. I was practically depressed for a whole day with different thoughts going through my head. I only started getting better when I noticed that my taste was coming back gradually. I'll totally not advise anyone to do it. It's psychologically killing...
This is why I say the future of internet will need some sort of reputation system so that people can have more options in trusting sources of information.
This was really educative, I use google a lot for health related searches but I try to search enough to squeeze the best result out of the millions and draw my opinion from there. There really needs to be forms of reputation system in the future and the blockchain will help establish it, i think.
This is why I say the future of internet will need some sort of reputation system so that people can have more options in trusting sources of information.
This was really educative, I use google a lot for health related searches but I try to search enough to squeeze the best result out of the millions and draw my opinion from there. There really needs to be forms of reputation system in the future and the blockchain will help establish it, i think.
I agree with the fact that the Internet needs a kind of reputation system. That is why Web 3.0 such as hive owns the future.
Most of the times, it's not that people can't discern fake information from true ones. The psychological effects of the fake info just seem to linger. You are quite certain that your headache is not tumor related but your mind will keep going back, what if its tumor? 😅
That is the power of information. You would have already finished the diagnosis on your body with information on the Internet even before the real diagnosis is done. Many people have imagined sickness that is not present in their body just by fake information.
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Everything on the Internet is not always good, perhaps searching in pages with great reputation is efficient to find a viable solution. Or we can also look in #stemsocial and here we will find the best specialists in each area that can clarify our concerns, especially we have some very good doctors with excellent publications hehehehe :P
greetings my friend Shaid :)
Thank you for such a wonderful insight. I agree that the Web should have a form of "reputation tick" in order to protect information consumers. That is why the future belongs to a platform like hive. I sometimes forget that we are blessed with professionals in stemsocial. I will put it at the forefront of my memory, in case of next time.
I hope that things will change in the future and of course our project can be a great example of that. Instead of spending money on consultations, people feel confident to find the answers here and save money :)...It's just a small vision, obviously what basic questions.
Once there is a reputation system, people will have the confidence to come here and seek for help.
I very rarely find out anything by google, though I spend a lot of time doing it. Great write up. My Nana couldn't smell - I forget why. It shocked me when I found out. She was quite nonplussed by it, but she was a hard core strong woman who brooked no nonsense, like sentiment over smell. I like to try to channel her when I'm feeling down. What would she have done?
It might be much of an issue if she was born with it, that is, congenital. Also, if she's still young, it might impact her life much. But for an adult that is used to perceiving different smells, it might be tough to adjust just like in my own case. It will take a good effort to not slip into depression.
I think the first thing is to find out what might be the cause of her inability to smell. Then, you can take it up from there.
I am not sure why - I'd have to ask my Dad. She's passed now though. I think she was pretty tough - she went through war, migration, a difficult marriage, divorce and single parenthood.
I'm sorry to hear that.
It will be a bad idea to google about symptoms of a disease if you don't have the required knowledge about disease. Some countries are in serious problem that is created by them because of their ignorance. When we talk of the corona virus some people believed that once you have a respiratory problem, you are automatically a corona virus patient which is far from the truth. Other symptoms should be considered as well. Who knows if it is another disease different from the acclaimed virus.
INFORMATION IS POWER!
The right information, not all information, is power. Information can make or mar you and the ability to discern between right and wrong in the plethora of information on the Internet is key.
Very true. I concur.
Dear @gentleshaid,
Once again you entertain with an amusing article--amusing, but with serious intent. Best combination for writer to capture an audience :) However (the dreaded however), I must disagree, gently, with your premise. Looking stuff up has been of great benefit to me, and my family in the past. Helped me to avoid possibly dangerous treatment. Helped to diagnose a rare condition from which my brother was suffering. And, most of all, helps me to participate in medical decisions...I become a partner, not a passive recipient.
I do agree that Googling stuff can get out of hand. Once I've gotten the information I need, I have to stop otherwise I experience the same kind of hysterical reaction you describe. The most dreadful scenarios are possible. And the pictures! Hard to resist the grim impact of some photos.
So, I agree and disagree. Look stuff up. Be informed so you can protect yourself and your family. But don't dwell on the unpleasant stuff. That will only make you sicker :))
Regards,
Thank you for the heart-warming comment. I pointed out early in the post that the internet is filled with information; some very useful and applicable while others might be inimical to us. While this is a good thing for those that can discern between good and bad information, it is not the same for those that cannot. Even some of us that can easily distinguish between the two can fall prey sometimes, not everyone has the self-control to stop when then get the needed info.
Yes, it is a delicate balance...particularly for those of us with vivid imaginations.
I couldn't agree with you more. Several years back, I was filled with a thought that I had a serious ailment, my fear was helped with various fake information I was feeding my mind with both on radio and other media network. It was only after consulting doctor that I knew that I was completely free, and that nothing was wrong with me. Most times when am seeking information from Google, I have never and will never really on a single source of information. This article is helpful. Thanks for sharing.