80 per cent Mumbaikars go online to read up on health issues

With the growing usage of Internet in mobile phones, 80 per cent of Mumbaikars refer to the Internet to enquire about health-related issues. Moreover, 14 per cent of them take medication based on information without consulting doctors that often mislead them, deteriorating their health condition. This was revealed in a recent study done by Medical Association of Resident Doctors (MARD).
The study was done over the past two weeks and included 400 respondents. Anshika Malhotra, an 18-year-old from Thane, was recently admitted to a hospital after she started bleeding profusely from her private parts. Ms Malhotra, a tech-savvy college student, had consumed medication for pain related to menstruation without consulting with a doctor. Upon talking with her, doctors discovered that she had searched the Internet and bought the suggested medicine from a nearby medical shop.

Like Ms Malhotra, many people during any medical problem turn to the Internet without consulting doctors. As per the study, 14 per cent of the respondents said they had taken medication without consulting with a doctor.
“This can be very dangerous especially in cases where children are involved or patients with serious diseases like cardiac problems or diabetic,” said Dr Pushpa Dave, a general physician.
So, to address the issue, MARD has started a campaign, ‘Doctor primary, Internet only supplementary’ from January 1.
“From today, on our Facebook page we have started posting simple health-related facts that are often mistaken by general people. It is primarily motivated to clear certain basic concepts that every individual should know,” said Dr Sagar Mundada, president of MARD. Also, people can post their questions on their Facebook page, which will be answered by doctors