Worst Case Scenario

Yes, you're dying. We're all dying. But what, exactly are you dying of? That nagging cough, your marked indifference, what could they mean? Don't bother running around the internet looking up your symptoms in an attempt at self diagnosis. We all know that, in the end, the internet is going to tell you you've got a horrible, incurable, communicable disease.

The Worst Case Scenario system cuts out the leg work by immediately jumping to the most paranoically horrifying disease closely matching your symptoms. There may not be an exact match, but there's always something relatively close and totally panic inducing.

Just click the box to enter the symptoms or risky activities that most closely match yours, then click submit. Your ailment will be diagnosed by trained medical peronnel and transferred to the internet via strombosis.

This is for entertainment purposes only, in case you were wondering. If you know of a horrifying disease that's not covered here, please email tony with a link and a list of symptoms.

Internet Diagnoses in the News!

Internet diagnosis gives GPs a webache

"CYBERCHONDRIA" - the imagined conditions afflicting patients who have turned to the internet for diagnosis - can be a bane for doctors convincing patients of their misdiagnosis, says an internet health expert, Jared Dart.

Dr Dart recalls an elderly patient's relative suggesting on the basis of internet research that the patient required a biopsy of skull tissue. Diagnosis by a doctor actually found "the poor old guy had been having headaches as a result of a muscular-skeletal problem in the neck".

"Many doctors have lamented the rise of the e-health information consumer, suggesting it has led to patient 'cyberchondria' and anecdotal reports of patients bringing health information to doctors abound," Dr Dart says.

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Self-diagnosis on the Web
Is the Internet turning us into a nation of cyberchondriacs?

The Internet may be the best thing ever for our understanding of our health or medical condition. It may also be the worst.

Reputable Web sites can provide instant access to high-quality information on medical conditions and treatments, helping patients to understand and better manage their health. But doctors warn the impersonal nature of the Internet can mislead individuals about the specifics of their particular situation. Web searches have the potential to create major anxiety over a minor symptom or to delude patients into thinking they have a rare, life-threatening ailment.

"It's kind of a double-edged sword," said Dr. Andrew Jones, a vein specialist with Inovia Vein Specialty Center in Bend. It's a great way for people to access information, but there's a lot of information that's pretty skewed."

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