The Fallacy of CYBERDIAGNOSIS (Symptom Surfing), Part One

Imagine that you go to see your doctor over concern about a recent exposure (let's say that an oral sex episode). You are in the examination room and the doctor asks, "How can I help you?". You tell your doctor about your recent exposure, and your concern that you might have HIV. To your surprise, your doctor replies, "Since you have an HIV concern, I cannot examine you or perform any medical tests. Please come with me."

Your doctor then takes you to another room. Inside the room is a small computer desk with a computer and printer, and two chairs. Nothing else. The doctor takes his seat at the computer, and asks you to take the other seat on the other side of the computer desk. Your doctor says, "Ahhhh.....that is MUCH better. Now I can figure out what is going on with you. Please tell me what symptoms you are experiencing."  You tell the doctor, "Well, I think that I might have a couple of enlarged lymph nodes in my armpit, and one in my neck. Also, my tongue looks kinda white recently. And I have these red dots on my chest every so often."

Your doctor then precedes to type into the computer. He appears to be reading the computer screen VERY INTENTLY. Every so often, you hear the mouse click, more typing, the sound of the printer printing, and an occasional "hmmmm...." from the doctor. After about 20 minutes of this, the doctor precedes to make several notes in your medical file, and gathers the printouts and puts them in your file.

Your doctor then turns to face you. His face is very grave. To your utmost shock, the doctor says, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have HIV. You see, on AIDMEDS.com, there was this guy who says he got HIV from oral sex. Therefore, it must be possible. And when I Google your symptoms with HIV,  I always get something in the top 10 hits that states that white tongue, swollen lymph nodes, and red dots are all HIV symptoms. Unfortunately, this combination of information is always 100% accurate. However, the good news is that we caught this early, and with medication and a healthy lifestyle, you can live a full life."

Your doctor then writes you a prescription for ATRIPLA and hands it to you. He says, "Please make an appointment to see me in three months", and sends you on your way.  


Questions:

1. If your doctor ACTUALLY DID this, would you ACCEPT your HIV diagnosis??

2. If your answer to the above is "No", THEN WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO DIAGNOSE YOURSELF??


J.