Googling symptoms can help your diagnosis

(TELEGRAPH) — People who look up their symptoms, investigate the latest treatments or research can gain more from their GP consultation, a study has found.

A team at University College London interviewed 26 people of varying ages why they took web-based information to their GP and what they had got out of it.

The findings, published in the British Journal of General Practice, showed that some felt GPs took them more seriously while others seemed worried that their doctor would be offended.

The research follows advice that patients should generally avoid ‘Googling’ their symptoms because of the wealth of inaccurate and misleading information on the web.