`When I was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis), the consultant asked me if I had access to the Internet," says Jane (not her real name). "He said the literature he had wasn't up to date and that most of the research and development into MS was taking place in the US." As patients, we are increasingly keen to take control of our health - and information from "Dr Internet" can usefully supplement any supplied to us by our own doctors.
"When my GP told me my hepatitis C test was positive, he gave me no information at all," says Luke (not his real name). "I went on the Internet and found lots of stuff about the latest medical research and treatment and also about homeopathic remedies. I've just heard that my first appointment to see a specialist, which I'd waited two months for, has been cancelled because of budget cuts. I don't know what I'd do without the Internet - now I'm taking a natural remedy I read about on the Net."
Jane searched Yahoo for MS sites and came up with masses of information and links. "It's a bit daunting," she says. "There's almost too much there - some of it is very graphic and there's no mincing of cold hard words. I'm not sure whether people are emotionally equipped to digest the black and white bombardment of facts and figures at an early stage of diagnosis. And some of the medical terms are very confusing."
While Jane feels the Net is a wonderful source of information, there is a downside: "You discover there are fantastic remedies, but they're not available to everyone. It's all based on US research and some of the recommended drugs are not licensed here."
Before cancelling that doctor's appointment, remember that, although the Net is a rich resource, there is no substitute for consulting a healthcare professional - and, while many reputable organisations are online, there are no guarantees of the accuracy of Web pages or the credentials of their creators.
One of the most fulfilling ways of using the Net is the cyberspace equivalent of chatting over a garden fence - going into chat rooms or bulletin boards to exchange personal stories and tips with others who have similar health problems.
A Webring (i.e. a collection of sites on a particular subject) is one of the best places to begin your search. The health Webring at www.webring.org/ringworld /health.html is divided into categories: disease, medicine, drugs and so on, and then subdivided into individual rings with links to sites. The quality of the sites in each ring varies, but they often include the official sites of research bodies and campaigning groups as well as chat rooms, bulletin boards and the homepages of sufferers.
For Irish health information, the Irish Health Care Agora site is a good starting point. Despite being aimed mainly at healthcare professionals, it provides contact details of patient support groups and has links to most Irish medical sites, from medical journals and hospitals to GPs' homepages, (www.ihca.net/ie/ IHCA). An alternative is the award-winning Irish Medical Directory (www.imd.ie) which has an extensive list of patient support groups as well as Public Enema pages - medical jokes in questionable taste.
If you have a specific problem to put to "Dr Net" go direct to a health search engine. When making a search, it's worth trying several definitions. For help with a bad back, for example, try "back pain", "back problems" and "chronic pain".
One efficient search engine is HealthAnswers (at www.healthanswers.com) where "men's health" comes up with information on hair loss, vasectomies, prostate cancer and more - and helpfully lists the source, which in this case is the American Academy of Family Physicians. Another is Health Explorer (www.planethealth.com) which includes a database of thousands of resources for the sick and the well - a search on heart disease came up with links to 68 sites.
The Mayo Clinic, one of the foremost US clinics, has one of the best health sites, at www.mayohealth.org. You can take the cholesterol quiz, browse the archives or ask the Mayo physician or dietician for free advice.
How did chicken pox get its name? For a reply to a particular question, try the 1,400 Q&A's in the archives of Go Ask Alice! Run by Columbia University's Health Education Program and aimed at the under-30s, this lively site, where nothing is taboo, receives 2.5 million visits a month. Email Alice! direct from the site at www.goaskalice.columbia.edu.
Want to know more about your medication? Check it out at www.healthtouch.com. where the "drug information" section lists the common uses, advice on skipped doses and possible sideeffects of over 7,000 prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
It's never to early to take an interest in health. Children have their own health site, with games such as Plak Attack: "Defend teeth from yucky family Plaque", a chance to dissect a virtual frog and simple lessons on how the body works. The US paediatrics who created this site at kidshealth.org supply information for parents on behaviour, growing up healthy and much more.
Women's Health Interactive is a friendly learning environment (www.womens-health.com) offering discussion groups, a searchable archive and assessment questionnaires (on topics such as infertility, HRT and osteoporosis), which provide personalised advice. Strangely, men's health does not have any similarly good exclusive sites. Go instead to the indexes of general health sites, and find the men's category.
If Viagra is failing to solve your problems, ask leading US sex therapist Dr Ruth for advice (cgi.pathfinder.com/drruth). Email your own question or take a look at the sex tips, sex polls or recent Q&A pages. Another online doctor is Andrew Weil, US author of holistic health books (cgi.pathfinder.com/drweil). This is a patient-friendly place to discuss health on the community bulletin boards or listen to DocTalkLive.
But you don't need to be ill to surf to a health site. If you who would like to improve your general health (and love answering questions about yourself) take the 20-minute Planet Health LifeView quiz (www.planet- health.com) to receive a personal action plan and customised list of websites.
Sarah Marriott: sarahmarriott@hotmail.com