# Recommendations for medical info on the net

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-medical-info-on-the-net/139871>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 2, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-medical-info-on-the-net/139871 "2002-12-02T02:08:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-medical-info-on-the-net/139871/1 "2002-12-02T02:08:49Z")

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When I was a kid, I used to refer to a family medical reference book my mom had. It had flowcharts that would give you a diagnosis based on your symptoms. Of course, it’s not a substitute for going to a doctor, but it’s good in those cases where you want some information to decide whether it’s serious enough to warrant calling the doctor. I just posted a medical question in GQ, but I’m not sure that there are enough medical experts on the SDMB to answer the question. Also, sometimes the problem might be too embarrassing to post. Anyone know of a website that provides good, accessible information on medical conditions, like the book my mom had?

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**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-medical-info-on-the-net/139871/2 "2002-12-02T02:14:32Z")

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[WebMD](http://www.webmd.com) is a good general place to start.

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-medical-info-on-the-net/139871/3 "2002-12-02T04:13:47Z")

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**beagledave** beat me to it, but WebMD is a good site.

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**Author:** ![Peregrine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a6a055/32.png) [@Peregrine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peregrine)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-medical-info-on-the-net/139871/4 "2002-12-02T05:21:07Z")

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I’m fond of [The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy](http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/) and [The Merck Manual of Medical Information–Home Edition](http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home/).