Googling Can Be Bad For Your Health

Recently a patient asked for advice. He had had an episode of distorted vision which had lasted several days. He could see clearly but his peripheral vision was just not right. Being internet savvy, he Googled peripheral visual distortion and had discovered he was suffering from a migraine and that the visual distortion should wear off fairly soon and no further action was required. Dr Google’s advice reassured my patient and he popped in to see me several days later to ask about the distortion. Typically, visual distortion due to a migraine is fairly short-lasting (usually only for a few minutes but it can last longer). In this case it had lasted several days so a red flag was raised immediately. His peripheral vision was checked and a defect was found in both eyes. We also checked his blood pressure. It was extremely high … my assistant actually thought our machine was broken until she checked her own blood pressure. This patient was immediately sent to A&E where it was subsequently confirmed he had suffered a stroke. in seeking Luckily, professional his delay advice had not caused any deterioration in his condition and he is well on the way back to good health. My other gripe with Dr Google is the patient who researches their symptoms and is convinced they are going blind or have a brain tumour and are going to die. As a result, they either are too terrified to seek advice or they come in a panic convinced they are going blind. I have never come across a patient who has successfully self-diagnosed a serious vision problem. If you have never suffered from migraine and you suddenly have an episode of distorted vision or you have any sudden change in your vision, you should seek urgent advice from your optometrist.