Most of us have done it – felt a strange pain, experienced weird symptoms, and taken our questions to the internet.
Dr. Elizabeth Meade of Swedish hospital says the top Googled illnesses of 2017 cover a wide range of topics from how to stop snoring to ADHD.
High blood pressure was also high on the list because of changing guidelines.
“It used to be that we told people if your top number was above 140, or your bottom number was above 90 that that was high blood pressure, but we've actually changed those recommendations to 130 for the top number and 80 for the bottom number. So, it's about half of adults in the US now is classified as having high blood pressure,” said Meade.
Another frequently searched topic: Fatigue.
“There's a lot of factors that go into that. I think it's really important for people to practice good sleep hygiene, to try to go to bed at the same time every day, if you can get up at the same time in the morning,” said Meade.
While the answer could be simple, Meade says as with any illness if your condition isn't getting better further tests might be necessary.
That's certainly the case when asking questions about the flu, which can last between 10 to 14 days.
“If you're getting worse during that time or it's lasting longer than two weeks, you should absolutely see a doctor,” said Meade.
Kidney stones and hiccups were also at the top of the list, and even Hollywood inspired some searches.
“Selena Gomez actually revealed this year that she had a kidney transplant because of lupus and I think that's why people really started looking into it. It's an autoimmune disease that affects mostly women. Often you'll have a characteristic rash on their face, but it can present with lots of other things like joint pain,” said Meade.
So, should we be Googling our medical conditions?
“I think it's fine to look something up if you're trying to get an idea of what's going on, but the biggest thing is if you feel like something is just not right you should always see your doctor,” said Meade.
Meade says while it's always good to be armed with information, searching your symptoms can lead to confusion, so take what you read with a grain of salt.
And always trust your intuition.
