Health, medicine, and social media, what is, what does not - Vanity Fair.it

For the army of hypochondriacs that we (I include myself there, as lead partner), the Internet is becoming what to Jerome K. Jerome in Three Men in a Boat was the book found at the British Museum. What he did find that you have all the diseases in the world, except for one:

“I housemaid’s knee. Why not also have housemaid’s knee not understand it, but the fact is that I do not have. But whatever, I got it. “

advice of many doctors is: do not read anything. Ignore all the sites that talk about health, diseases and remedies, especially yours. The reality is, however, if used well, the tools of the social web can be an important source of information and also of comfort (the community of new mothers, available online 24 hours 24 just for a virtual pat on the back, have alleviated most of the baby blues counseling, I suspect). Or prevention: the app to quit smoking (I’m trying), playing sports or lose weight, which share the successes with virtual friends, often provide an extra motivation.

“What do you do, for example? Are you searching for medical information online? Prefer to avoid? Have you had any experiences good or bad? “

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, figuring out how to make good use of online tools, I interviewed Luigi Ripamonti , a graduate in medicine and head of the pages of Corriere Health and Health section of Corriere.it and pharmacists most famous web ie Magdalene and Edward Schenardi Pharmacy Serra Genoa.

Luigi Ripamonti, online content (blogs, comments, forums …) and social networks are good or bad and medical information to patients? Needless

wondering: there are, they are part of our lives, we must learn to know them and to manage them. Skim the fundamental sources: understand who talks to you and why. Information released by the newspapers and large groups can be useful – is the watchdog of the mainstream media, news circulates perhaps overlooked – but the risk of incompetence, in good or in bad faith, is high.

A few months ago you decided to close comments on articles Courier Health. Why?

Not because I care about the criticism are normal and in many cases even useful. But often the comments were becoming, as well as a place to vent and resentments, even a vehicle of misinformation and talking about health was not acceptable. The final decision came when I got a comment that suggested not to do an HIV test because “the AIDS virus is an invention of the pharmaceutical companies.”

In such cases, however, the web can be helpful in the medical field?

opportunity for discussion, psychological support, self-help. And, in the case of certificates and authoritative sites, even as a resource database of hospitals and facilities, like we do with ATM cancer.

there a way to navigate and select only reputable sites?

In addition to common sense – you choose the contents come from hospitals and research centers known – is certified by Health On the Net, the HONcode , a sort of seal of quality awarded to sites that talk medicine and health respecting the 8 principles established by the association. ( For the moment exists only for websites, I have asked the association if and when it will be also attributed to Facebook pages or Twitter account, but so far I have not received a response ).

Edward (pictured) and Maddalena Schenardi, with Genoa Serra Pharmacy are present on virtually all social. How flanked activity behind the counter with the online

For us, the general network, blog, Youtube and social are a way to share our experiences of health professionals and parents of four children ( yes, four, you read that right! ) . Answer the phone, in a tweet or an email is exactly the same, we try to make ourselves useful by using them as a tool for sharing and for being achieved. And when they ask us where we can find the time to go on the internet, the answer is that we do not “go”, but we live connected.

For which areas or diseases sharing of medical information on social works best?
Especially with regard to the prevention and lifestyle. For example, the use made by Joe Smith, chef and science of the Veronesi Foundation (on Twitter: MarcoBianchiOff), who uses his account to make information. Another interesting aspect is to connect people who suffer from a rare disease. The sharing of information becomes important for families who are online a continuous comparison with other patients.

What are in your opinion the best app and the accounts should not miss?

Very interesting work Humanitas Italy, with the content of prevention, infographics and interaction on Twitter. We should also mention the Galliera Hospital in Genoa pills that are creating videos to answer frequently asked questions.
As for the app, there are many valid: we mention four of them.

My sugr , for monitoring of diabetes, an app created by Austrian boys diabetics who introduced the game in the management of a very serious condition.

Med map , which allows you, wherever you are abroad, you know the drug corresponding to the Italian one.

Pocket CPR that explains how to behave in a situation as serious as a heart attack.

PFA allows you to meet food allergies and food components when needed, ie before buying a food.

“I will also point out, to play down their hashtag # risateinfarmacia, which collects the howlers who listen every day. Do not miss it! “

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