Should You Search the Internet for Information About Your Acute Symptom?

Abstract

Symptom-related sites ranked highly by major search engines lack much of the information needed to make a decision about whether a symptom needs urgent attention. When present, this information is usually not located where users can rapidly access it and often lacks prescriptive guidance for users to seek care. Until more sites contain at least minimal triage advice, relying on an Internet search to help determine the urgency of a symptom could be risky.