Be On Your Guard When Trusting Internet Resources For Your Health

Author: Bobby Warnock

Be on your guard when trusting internet resources for your health

The internet is one of the most useful resources for quickly finding information and just about any subject under the sun, as you well know. However, it is not always entirely reliable, for too many reasons to describe in full detail here, and when looking for information on certain topics, such as health and wellness, you have to be particularly careful.

When looking for general information on your health, you want to start with the most reliable sources possible - Medline Plus and Healthfinder are two of these. Medical school websites and major research institutions such as the Mayo Clinic can also be relied upon for this purpose.

If you are looking to purchase prescription medications online, you have to exercise even greater caution. Only internet prescription marketplaces listed by the National Association of Board of Pharmacy as accredited by the boards of pharmacy in individual states should be trusted - anything else could well be a scam of some sort.

The risks of purchasing medications from disreputable online pharmacies are numerous. You could end up with fraudulent, expired or mislabeled drugs, or even encounter medications that have been tampered with and could be extremely dangerous. All legitimate web-based pharmacies will have the same prescription requirements any physical pharmacy would enforce, and also have a physical location and phone number. If you find a website lacking that information, steer clear of it.

Before you go about utilizing internet health information or solutions of any kind, you would do well to consult the most traditional health resource possible - your regular doctor. She will likely be aware of any particularly well-known online health scams, and can discredit any spurious health information you find on the internet. In fact, it might be best to stick to your doctor in the first place.

Do you trust the internet as a resource for health information? 

In Brief

  • The internet is one of the most useful resources for quickly finding information and just about any subject under the sun, as you well know.
Trusted Messenger.com

Receive updates on this topic.

We don't spam or share our list!