Misdiagnosing Yourself or Your Child Can Be Dangerous

I was first “diagnosed” with cancer when I was a second-year medical student. This was before I was “diagnosed” with chronic Lyme disease, vasculitis, multiple sclerosis, and then cancer again…four more times. Like many of my classmates, as I learned about various medical conditions, I started to recognize some of the symptoms in myself. I succumbed to “medical student syndrome” and starting incorrectly self-diagnosing each of those conditions.

Thankfully, I was way off base in my deductions, but this experience offered valuable insight. I learned first-hand how a little bit of knowledge can quickly and severely lead someone astray when that knowledge is not combined with context, expertise, experience, perspective and a whole lot more.

Websites Do Not Replace Medical Professionals

In today’s age of endless online information and artificial intelligence tools, anyone can perform a quick search when health questions arise. Let’s face it - it is inconvenient to message your doctor, wait for a reply, then take time off work or school to be seen for a visit. It’s much simpler and faster to try and figure out what’s wrong on your own. Sore throat? Clearly that’s strep throat. Wait, unless it’s cancer. Or perhaps it’s just postnasal drip from allergies. But what if it’s an antibiotic resistant bacterial infection? Unfortunately, the easiest approach isn’t always the best approach.

There Are Many Reasons to Visit Your Doctor

When I evaluate someone for new health concerns, I spend a lot of time asking specific questions followed by a physical exam. Diagnostic tests may be necessary to help arrive at the most likely diagnosis. Every piece of information I obtain is important in ruling in or ruling out various conditions. I need to use my knowledge, expertise, and experience to sort through a differential diagnosis for every patient, which can be challenging in many circumstances. Since I graduated medical school over 20 years ago, I’ve treated tens of thousands of patients and have learned to recognize patterns and clues to help me arrive at a diagnosis much faster than when I first started practicing medicine. And I still get stumped from time to time.

So, what’s the harm in going online to try to figure out what’s causing you or your child’s symptoms? Afterall, it can be empowering to rule out scary things or learn possible causes. It may even save time and money by skipping the doctor’s office altogether. Unfortunately, there are many pitfalls that can occur with self-diagnosis, some of which may make things much worse.

Leave the Diagnosing to the Experts

Even with boundless information available, limited knowledge and expertise can lead people to incorrect conclusions. Confirmation bias causes us to incorrectly focus on information that supports our beliefs while ignoring contradictory information. Misdiagnosis can easily occur given the wide overlap in symptoms that can occur in a variety of conditions. Lastly, incorrect self-diagnosis can delay the time until seeking proper care, lead to use of ineffective and potentially harmful treatments, cause unnecessary anxiety, and in some cases may overlook serious conditions.

My wife and I are both pediatricians, but we still take our own children to their pediatrician for well visits and anytime they need to be evaluated for illness. We try our best to play the role of parents and let their pediatrician offer her expertise and recommendations. I also have my own primary care doctor who I turn to when I have questions about my health. Do I still try to figure things out on my own? Of course…but I always run it by my doctor to allow him the opportunity to laugh and tell me why I’m wrong. Instead of relying solely upon the internet to help answer all of your health questions, consider using that as a starting point for conversations with your (or your child’s) personal doctor.