The doctor has a generally negative view of patients using health websites to self-diagnose. She describes a recent patient who incorrectly thought he had a serious illness based on Dr. Google, but actually just had a minor viral infection. The doctor says an accurate diagnosis depends on symptoms, medical history, examination findings, and test results - not just symptoms alone. She recommends using discussion forums on reliable medical websites. The doctor provides three tips for cyberchondriacs: 1) Only look online as a starting point, not as a replacement for a doctor's evaluation; 2) Make sure the website is reliable before relying on its information; 3) Remember that common symptoms usually have common minor causes rather than rare serious diseases.

1. LISTENING
Cyberchondriacs

2. Listen to a radio interview with a doctor
about cyberchondria.
 What’s her general opinion of patients using health
websites?

3. Match the following terms with their
definition:
 LOOK UP
 WEIRD
 DIAGNOSE
 ITCHY
 TURN OUT
 SUNBURNT
 SENSIBLY
 SET UP
 RELIABLE
 FOOD POISONING
 in a way that shows the ability to make good
judgements based on reason rather than emotion
 having an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that
makes you want to scratch yourself
 an illness of the stomach caused by eating food that
contains harmful bacteria
 to look for information in a dictionary or reference
book, or by using a computer
 to create something or start it
 that is likely to be correct or true
 very strange or unusual and difficult to explain
 suffering from the condition of having painful red
skin because you have spent too much time in the
sun
 to happen in a particular way; to develop or end in
a particular way
 to say exactly what an illness or the cause of a
problem is

4. Listen again and answer the following
questions:
 What did a patient she saw recently think he had? What
did he really have?
 What four things does she say that diagnosis depends on
apart from symptoms?
 What kind of website forums does she recommend?
 Complete the three tips she gives to cyberchondriacs:
 Only look online…
 Make sure that the website you are using is…
 Remember that common symptoms usually…