Too reliant on Dr Google

THE rise of “cyberchondriac” patients who self-diagnose from online searches has caused a surge in unnecessary health fears, experts have warned.

The problem is becoming “remarkably common”, with many visiting hospitals with exaggerated concerns after researching their condition via “Dr Google” or reading about a celebrity’s health problems.

Experts estimate that up to one in five outpatients could have a condition called health anxiety, which leads to excessively analysis of their health.

Although some with health anxiety may have a genuine physical ailment, sufferers will often believe their condition is far more severe than it really is, “despite all medical evidence to the contrary”.

Researchers are now calling for health anxiety to be widely recognised as a condition.