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Google To Offer Better Medical Advice When You Search Your Symptoms (cnbc.com)

An anonymous reader writes from a report via CNBC: Google said Monday that it will be improving its catalog of searched Googled health symptoms by adding information on related health conditions that have been vetted by the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School. For example, if you type "headache on one side," Google will offer up a list of associated conditions like "migraine," "common cold" or "tension headache." When it comes to general searches like "headache," the company will also give an overview description along with information on self-treatment options or symptoms that warrant a doctor's visit. In Google's official blog post, the company said roughly 1 percent of the searches on Google, which equates to millions of searches, are related to symptoms users are researching. However, search results can be confusing, and result in "unnecessary anxiety and stress," Google said. It plans to use its Knowledge Graph feature, which contains high-quality medical information collected from doctors, to enhance search results.

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  1. Re: filter out pseudoscience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    There aren't many people out there who are truly opposed to vaccinations. Please don't misrepresent our beliefs. We simply understand that vaccines have side effects. In adults, vaccines can cause soreness, fever, and nausea. Occasionally there are more serious side effects of vaccines, though these generally are rare in adults. One side effect that can be far more serious is that a person could have an allergic reaction to the vaccine. That can happen with any vaccine, though it's not especially common. Generally speaking, the side effects are either so rare or benign relative to actually getting the illness that the vaccine is worth it. In children, however, sometimes the side effects are different. In particular, some vaccines are strongly linked with causing autism. The mechanisms for this aren't fully understood, but there is a strong link with some vaccines. I don't think most people truly oppose vaccinations, but rather are genuinely concerned about the side effects. And that's also true with medicines, which can sometimes have some very serious side effects. Please don't misrepresent our views as pseudoscience.