How to find reliable health information online

Dear Savvy Senior,

How tin I show if nan wellness info connected a website is trustworthy? I usually do a Google hunt connected a symptom, supplier aliases wellness information erstwhile I want to investigation something, but pinch truthful overmuch accusation retired location I’m not judge what I tin trust.

— Skeptical Sal

Dear Sal,

You’re wise to beryllium skeptical! There’s an overwhelming magnitude of wellness proposal connected nan net coming and it tin beryllium difficult to show what’s credible. To thief you benignant done nan online clutter and find reliable, trustworthy wellness information, present are a fewer tips to follow, on pinch immoderate top-rated sites you tin move to pinch confidence.

Savvy Searching

First, cognize that Google aliases Bing is not ever nan champion spot to commencement a search. You’ll summation your likelihood of uncovering reliable wellness accusation if you statesman pinch websites tally by authorities agencies (identified by URLs ending successful .gov), aesculapian associations (often .org) aliases world institutions (.edu).

Commercial websites (usually ending successful .com), specified arsenic supplier aliases security companies who whitethorn beryllium trying to waste you their products, are usually not nan astir trustworthy options. To find retired who’s sponsoring a tract and wherever nan accusation came from, click connected nan “About Us” tab connected nan site’s location page.

Also statement that bully wellness and aesculapian accusation changes each nan clip truthful cheque nan day that accusation was published to make judge it’s current.

Some different areas you request beryllium wary of see online denotation checkers and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. While denotation checkers do connection imaginable diagnoses that could fresh your group of symptoms, they are often inaccurate, and thin to err connected nan broadside of be aware says Ateev Mehrotra, MD, professor of wellness attraction argumentation astatine Harvard Medical School. AI tools, for illustration ChatGPT, tin besides beryllium incorrect aliases make mendacious but technological sounding information.

You besides request to beryllium cautious astir utilizing aesculapian accusation from societal media, online forums aliases YouTube. Comments successful these places whitethorn sound charismatic moreover if nan authors person nary aesculapian training aliases expertise.

Top Health Sites

While location are galore fantabulous websites that supply reliable wellness and aesculapian information, 1 of nan champion all-purpose sites that’s recommended by Consumer Reports for researching symptoms and conditions is MedlinePlus (medlineplus.gov).

A work of nan National Library of Medicine, nan world’s largest aesculapian library, and portion of nan National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus provides high-quality, trustworthy wellness and wellness accusation that’s easy to understand and free of advertising.

Here are a fewer further websites, recommended by nan Medical Library Association and others, to thief you find reliable accusation connected circumstantial diseases, conditions and treatments.

Cancer: National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov), American Cancer Society (cancer.org) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (nccn.org).

Heart disease: American Heart Association (americanheart.org), National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (nhlbi.nih.gov).

Diabetes: American Diabetes Association (diabetes.org).

Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) and Alzheimers.gov.

Public wellness and vaccines: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov).

Alternative medicine: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (nccih.nih.gov) and nan National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements (ods.od.nih.gov).

Any investigation you do online earlier seeing a doctor, beryllium judge to prevention aliases people your findings retired connected paper, including nan tract you sewage your accusation from, truthful you tin reappraisal it together.

Send your elder questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, aliases sojourn SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is simply a contributor to nan NBC Today show and writer of “The Savvy Senior” book.