Mom uses internet to diagnose daughter's disease
Categories: Teens & tweens, Health & safety, Medical conditions
It's like an episode of mystery diagnosis. Thirteen-year-old Danielle Fisher got sick last fall and got progressively worse until she was unable to even get out of bed without suffering from vertigo and shortness of breath. Doctors weren't any help, offering up guesses ranging from Epstein-Bar virus to a tumor; one even suggested that all she needed was a psychiatrist. So Danielle's mom decided to do some research of her own.She searched the internet for Danielle's symptoms and came up with a surprising answer: Lyme disease, caught from a tick bite. After checking with an expert, she is now on a proper course of treatment but if the disease had been left untreated, Danielle could have faced nerve damage, paralysis, and blindness. As for her mom, she says that "this disease is a lot more common than people think and I just want to make people aware of it."
While the internet is by no means a perfect source of information -- there is plenty of misinformation out there -- it is useful for research which can then be provided to a doctor. I know that if my kids get sick or start acting odd, I start checking the internet for information. I think you do, however, have to take anything you find with a grain of salt.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shelly 7-21-2008 @ 9:43PM
This is very scary! My son contracted Lyme Disease when he was 2 and our pediatrician insisted that he had a "virus" and that it wasn't Lyme.... I did research on my own at the library and on the internet and insisted that he get tested for Lyme... As it turns out, he had it. We were very lucky to get him on a course of anti-biotics in time. Bottom line is, you know your kids and you know when something isn't right. It is our duty as parents to advocate for our kids and be proactive!
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Betty Lee 7-21-2008 @ 10:19PM
Good for this mother. Indeed some stuff on the internet is questionable but it is a start. I have done it for myself, family and friends. At least it gives them a start to ask questions and get the doctor to check it out.
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Jenn 7-23-2008 @ 11:40PM
As long as people stick with reputable medical sites when researching symptoms, the Internet can be great. It's when they start going to forums and communities and having non-medical professionals say "Oh, that sounds just like what my husband's-cousin's-sister-in-law had three years ago..." that trouble occurs.
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