Women and Health Info

TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Women are more likely than men to search for health information on the Internet, according to researchers who analyzed four years of U.S. national survey data.

A team at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., also found that:

• women are more likely than men to seek online support groups for medical problems;
• women are more likely than men to seek health care information for others;
• women visit more health sites than men;
• men are more likely than women to go online for sensitive health information that may be difficult to talk about.

According to the researchers, health care is one of the few areas where women use the Internet much more than men. The other two areas are religion and driving directions.

Read more here.

How true that is! I don't know how many times I have used the internet to try to understand my health issues. I am quite the hypochondriac so a little knowledge can be quite dangerous sometimes!

One of my closest friends have become the "doctor" in her office because every time a colleague comes in complaining about some aches and pains, she will tell them what they have been doing wrong to themselves. And usually she is right. For example one of her colleagues suffers from gout and gout can be aggravated by eating certain foods.

The advent of the internet and the free flow of medical information have left women empowered and more in control of their health issues. They do not have to feel helpless any more and dependent on their medical doctor to tell them everything about their illnesses.

Women suffering from certain illnesses can find support from other sufferers in many support groups on the internet too.