Is the lack of affordable health insurance so bad people have to come on yahoo for advice?

i'm very concerned about the people who come on here for medical advice. some of it is very general, but some of the stuff here should be checked out by a doctor.





should yahoo remove this section? i think it's a bit dangerous for people to rely on laymans for medical advice. last time i checked you had 7 years of school to deal with. not to mention the people that have been to the doctors and still come here and ask questions. it's like, why did you even go to the doctors. to me, this seems a bit nuts. or is it just me?Is the lack of affordable health insurance so bad people have to come on yahoo for advice?
Generally speaking, I don't think it's a lack of medical insurance that makes people seek advice here. I think that people seek out a sense of community. They want reassurance that they're not the only ones who are experiencing whatever it is that they might have. In addition, a lot of times people feel more comfortable asking certain embarrassing health questions with the anonymity of the internet. They don't realize that as health professionals (I'm an RN in an ED), we've pretty much heard it all.





I don't think that this section should be censored, but I do think that there should be a big warning as a reminder that information gleaned from Answers Yahoo should not be a substitute for true medical advice from an actual MD.


I answer a lot of questions in the health section. You are right in that I have seen potentially dangerous misinformation. I try to point out any fallacies in other people's answers. However, I'm not a doctor and I would never dare diagnose anyone. When I answer questions, I look up my answers from reliable sources, and I always, always add ';you need to be seen by a doctor';, or some variation of that. I also tell them that without knowing their medical history and seeing them, it is impossible to know what is going unless they're seen by an MD. I do give suggestions, but I never diagnose. Finally, one of the things I love most about being a nurse is the opportunity to do patient teaching in a manner that the layperson can understand, and this website is a forum for that. I have found that few doctors and RNs spend the time to really teach their patients about their illnesses, medications etc.Is the lack of affordable health insurance so bad people have to come on yahoo for advice?
i'm glad yahoo has this section. at least some people are trying to get help weithor misguided or not. i am not a doctor, but if it sounds just bad or plain wrong i always tell people to go to the hospital or their docs. and so do the majority of docs and non doctors alike.
Medical care in America is prohibitive expensive, so much so that it is the main reason that we, as a nation, are now hopelessly in debt. Our medical profiteers are solely to blame, for if spending for medical care in America were relatively the same as other advanced countries, we would be in good financial condition. Therefore, it is very important that we can get medical advise via this forum; otherwise, tens of millions of us would get no medical advise at all. Even If we had enough money to see a doctor, we'd not have enough left to buy medicines. No wonder that, despite monstrous spending on medical care, we as a whole, receive less than most people in other advanced countries.
Whether this section is present or not people will come onto a forum and ask questions that they should be asking of professions - in many areas.


It is shocking to see how many people request medical information - and get it - from people who are guessing, or passing along home remedies or superstitions practices that can kill as fast as not.


Wherein two people answering your questions are medically trained, the majority of people are not and it is purely a waste of precious time to expect the uninformed to assist when they cannot physically see you are understand the condition of your body with visual and instrumental investigation and testing.


It is not necessarily a result of insurance or lack of it. It is the myth that all problems can be solved by information floating around on the web.
Im a doctor, Im on call so sitting here I answer some questions just for the sociology of it all.





If the questions seemingly pose a threat to one's health, I always state to see your doctor.





Yes insurance is bad, really bad, extremely bad. Go to the ER and ask about your skin rash, thats at least 100 dollar copay for the visit. If they run a test, your in for at least 1000.
Im glad yahoo has this,im not a dr but had many health problems ,and can give advice and like helping others.And yes helth insurace is that bad its sad.I just went bancrupt last year and now afraid to go to dr because my insurace aint paying for nothing whats a person to do.Your screwed either way/Lay and hurt or get a big bill that ya cant pay.No ONE SHOULD HAVE TO SUFFER.IvE HAD SOME GOOD ADVICE ON HERE THAT HELPED ME and im greatful.Thanks.
so you think that yahoo should pull the section, because there might be idiots out there that won't go to the doctor for real medical problems. how is that yahoo's fault? next thing you know it will be a law that i have to wear a seat belt... oh wait that already happened. you know i see so many question on here about evolution. why are we so bent on stopping natural selection? also people probably would like to check and see if other people experienced the same advice or procedure from a doctor. i am so tired of people thinking that doctors are infallible. where are all the doctors working who didn't graduate top of their class? you think that because somebody went to school for 7 years makes them flawless? come back to reality and stop putting faith in the system.
No, very simply some people ask questions on yahoo because lots of people hate going to the doctors. Plus there's a category on here called STD's and people like to get a general idea of what may be wrong with them or if they have an STD they want somebody to relate to and to remain anonymous. I figure if I ask a question people on here won't be sick enough to make things up, there are people that maybe have a family member or friend with the problem or condition or have experienced it themselves. And yes, MD visits can be very pricey and sometimes people just wanna figure out if its something they can get away with without having to see a doc. I highly doubt someone would go on here asking how to perform heart surgery. And of course some ppl are hypochondriacs.
I suspected the very same thing and as a former Paramedic I have serious concerns for uninsured folk who have posted what is obviously a serious medical condition warranting professional help.





I hope we are wrong in this because a nation is only as good as its people and sick people cannot a healthy nation make.





God I hope I'm wrong.