TravelAdvisor and the like in Consumer Reports

[MWC]

The most recent Consumer Reports has a blurb about web-based travel opinions. So did a travel column in the NY Times. One of their editors compared her vacation to what she had read about her hotel on the web, and concluded that something was screwy that opinions and factual descriptions could differ so tremendously. The NY Times writer learned that at the hotel she was staying at, the hotel would give any guest who wrote a favorable review of it for online reading, would get a free couple of hours at the hotel's spa.

Consumer Reports offered the usual wanring/advice, to take any extreme opinion with a grain of salt, and to sort of average out the comments for a realistic picture.

Consumer Reports also seemed most concerned about the poor medical advice being dispensed by the untrained opnionators. So thank you, James, for always being strict about referring any such medical questions back to the medical professionals. Consumer Reports would approve!

[CaroleLB]

Originally Posted by MWC

Consumer Reports also seemed most concerned about the poor medical advice being dispensed by the untrained opnionators. So thank you, James, for always being strict about referring any such medical questions back to the medical professionals. Consumer Reports would approve!

Thanks for putting this one out there.

I get so freaked by the medical questions people ask. I cannot tell you how many times I've typed in the reply box "WTF is wrong with you call an effin doctor." Better judgment has kept me from hitting the submit key.

I'll just leave it at that...

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by CaroleLB

Thanks for putting this one out there.

I get so freaked by the medical questions people ask. I cannot tell you how many times I've typed in the reply box "WTF is wrong with you call an effin doctor." Better judgment has kept me from hitting the submit key.

I'll just leave it at that...

Yah, I totally agree. Something's wrong when you are soliciting medical advice on the Internet, perhaps means you need a better physician??. That is something best left a professional, especially since everyone's case can be so different, depending on their health, their other issues, etc. Doctors train for upwards of 7 years for a reason!

[JudyBluEyes]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Yah, I totally agree. Something's wrong when you are soliciting medical advice on the Internet, perhaps means you need a better physician??. That is something best left a professional, especially since everyone's case can be so different, depending on their health, their other issues, etc. Doctors train for upwards of 7 years for a reason!

I have to disagree somewhat. I have learned a lot about my thyroid condition by using the Internet, things my doctor never told me. However, I've always gone to my doc armed with this info and it has helped with my treatment. I never even heard of T3 before I read about it on a forum, or that you should take your meds in the AM on an empty stomach and that you shouldn't take calcium with your meds. I do think that you should not just take the word of "someone" in cyberspace, but talk to your doc about what you've learned.

[MWC]

It's important that it be re-clarified, this was medical advice being dispensed in the context of a travel message board. The things like "Do I need anti-malaria medicine?" "What should I take if I get sick down there" "Ewww, I have a festering bug bite, is it becoming gangrenous?" kind of stuff that James always puts the kibosh on immediately.

I am all in favor of getting medical information on the web, as is Consumer Reports, with the caveat that you have to be careful about knowing/determining which sources are knowledgeable and reliable, which are geared toward selling a product, and which are just out there. With my husband's cancer and diabetes, my mom's old age issues, my dad's heart problems, my dog's ivermectin reaction -- the internet has been a GODSEND.

But in all those cases, a trained MD or DVD (vet) has been my "go-to" person for helping me assess which course of action to pursue.

[CaroleLB]

Originally Posted by MWC

It's important that it be re-clarified, this was medical advice being dispensed in the context of a travel message board.

Completely agreed!

I wouldn have had a very difficult time getting through an emergency hysterectomy without the support of a forum dedicated just to that.

Could you imagine the grins, chortles, belly laughs had I come here asking the questions I had?

[MWC]

Originally Posted by CaroleLB

Could you imagine the grins, chortles, belly laughs had I come here asking the questions I had?

Still, I have shared more sordid details about my family's physical quirks here than I ever would have expected to!

[CaroleLB]

Originally Posted by MWC

Still, I have shared more sordid details about my family's physical quirks here than I ever would have expected to!

Just consider for one minute the type of answers I would've gotten to sex questions.



Love your avatar. Carmen Miranda had the most infectious smile.

[krazy4playa]

Originally Posted by CaroleLB

Completely agreed!

I wouldn have had a very difficult time getting through an emergency hysterectomy without the support of a forum dedicated just to that.

Could you imagine the grins, chortles, belly laughs had I come here asking the questions I had?

I used the internet to do my own hysterectomy. I mean labodomy.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by MWC

It's important that it be re-clarified, this was medical advice being dispensed in the context of a travel message board. The things like "Do I need anti-malaria medicine?" "What should I take if I get sick down there" "Ewww, I have a festering bug bite, is it becoming gangrenous?" kind of stuff that James always puts the kibosh on immediately.

Yes, this is what I was referring to also. Eg. asking whether you should take anti-malaria drugs, etc. before your trip. I meant to say that this is so subjective depending on your current health, any issues, etc.

I too agree that a lot of knowledge can be gained from researching your medical issues with the use of the Internet.

[TeeZet]

Originally Posted by MWC

...
So thank you, James, for always being strict about referring any such medical questions back to the medical professionals. Consumer Reports would approve!

And Joana!

[SunKneeMarie]

I often look on the internet for descriptions of various medical things and read people's experiences with certain conditions or problems. It doesn't replace my doctor's advice or opinion, but I use it as a jumping off place sometimes.

I had a weird specific pain a few months ago and called the doctor's office, and got their answer. Then I went to the net and looked up more info on that condition. It just went more indepth. Then at my next visit I asked her about some of the things I'd read. Some she agreed with, some she debunked.

As to another issue: I have a bruise on the back of my thigh that is very slow to fade. Naturally I assumed I had some form of lymphoma. She laughed and said "Yes, that's right, you have thigh cancer. Remember, you're anemic. Stop reading the internet."