- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- 'Safe' Ozone Levels May Not Be for Some
- Asthmatics Who Quit Smoking May Reverse Lung Damage
- Folic Acid Might Offer Allergy Relief
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Indigo Ointment Benefits Psoriasis Patients
- Traditional Chinese Therapy May Help Ease Eczema
- Tai Chi: An Ideal Exercise for Many People with Diabetes
- ANIMAL CARE
- Animals Respond to Acupuncture's Healing Touch
- Beware of Dog Bites
- 'Comfort Dogs' Come to Emotional Rescue
- BONES & JOINTS
- Fractures in Older Adults Up Death Risk
- Barefoot Lifestyle Has Its Dangers
- Vitamin C Protects Some Elderly Men From Bone Loss
- CANCER
- Multiple Screening Strategy Boosts Cervical Cancer Detection
- Get to Know the Pap Test
- Vitamin D May Lower Colon Cancer Risk
- CAREGIVING
- Memory Loss Help from Brain Supplement Prevagen
- Study of Everest Climbers Questions Oxygen Use
- Rapid Infant Weight Gain Linked to Childhood Obesity
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Mercury in Fish Linked to High Blood Pressure
- Health Tip: Are You Anemic?
- Drink a Little Wine, Live a Little Longer
- COSMETIC
- Get Sugared!.... Its a sweet choice for hair removal
- With Psoriasis, the Internet May Offer Hope
- New Genetic Links to Baldness Discovered
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Acupuncture May Ease Anxiety Over Dental Work
- Gum Disease Might Boost Cancer Risk
- Gummy Bears Join Cavity Fight
- DIABETES
- 24 Million Americans Had Diabetes in 2007
- Older Diabetics With Depression Face Higher Death Rate
- Out-of-Control Blood Sugar May Affect Memory
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Diet, Exercise May Slow Kidney Disease Progression
- Mediterranean Diet May Help Prevent Depression
- To Feel Better, Low-Fat Diet May Be Best
- DISABILITIES
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Think You Are Lead-Free? Check Your Soil
- Gene Explains How High-Fructose Diets Lead to Insulin Resistance
- Dementia Underestimated in Developing Countries
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Blood Sugar Control Helps Diabetics Preserve Sight
- Glaucoma Treatment Can Prevent Blindness
- Unconscious Learning: In the Eye of the Beholder?
- FITNESS
- Have Fun This Summer, But DO Be Careful
- Exercise 30 Minutes a Day? Who Knew!
- Living With Less TV, More Sweat Boosts Weight Loss
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Gum Chewing May Speed Colon Surgery Recovery
- Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Fight Irritable Bowel
- HRT Use Raises Risk of Stomach Trouble
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Multivitamins Might Prolong Life
- Less Education May Mean Poorer Health
- Dry Weather Boosts Odds of Flu Outbreaks
- HEAD & NECK
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- The Internet Is Becoming One-Stop Shopping for Health Help
- Airport Full Body Scanners Pose No Health Threat: Experts
- Imaging Sheds Light on How Acupuncture Works
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Fewer Heart Attacks After England Goes Smoke-Free
- Most Fast-Food French Fries Cooked in Unhealthiest Oil
- Quitting Smoking Doubles Survival in Early Stage Lung Cancer
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Older Adults May Have Some Immunity to Swine Flu
- Bacterial Infections May Succumb to Honey
- Poor Restroom Cleaning Causes Cruise-Ship Sickness
- KID'S HEALTH
- Decline of Underweight Children in U.S. Continue to Fall
- Most Depressed Teens Don't Get Treatment
- Help Your Kids Stay Active
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Sunlight May Help Protect Men From Kidney Cancer
- Noise Hurts Men's Hearing More, Study Shows
- Eating Fast Until Full Triples Overweight Risk
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Mind Exercise Might Help Stroke Patients
- Massage Fosters Healing in Bereaved Relatives
- Chocolate a Sweet Pick-Me-Up for the Depressed
- PREGNANCY
- Heart Defects in Newborns Linked to Antidepressants
- Pregnant Women Exposed To Certain Pollutants Could Lower Childs IQ
- Breast-Feeding Benefits Moms and Babies
- SENIORS
- Many Cancer Survivors Don't Adopt Healthy Lifestyle
- Older People at Greater Risk of Swine Flu Death
- Want Better Health in the New Year, Add Exercise to Your Day
The Internet Is Becoming One-Stop Shopping for Health Help
By eHolistic.com Published: 08/17/2009
(HealthDay News) -- People regularly turn to the Internet for games and gossip, news and entertainment, essential information and high weirdness.
And now, apparently, for their health as well.
A number of successful online medical interventions have been reported in recent months, helping folks quit smoking, lower their blood pressure and deal with any number of ailments.
New York City cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg figures it's a great trend, as long as people are going to reliable and trusted sources for help.
"I think it is the wave of the future and, theoretically, it seems like a great idea," said Goldberg, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, a clinical associate professor of medicine and medical director of the Women's Heart Program at New York University Langone Medical Center and author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg's Complete Guide to Women's Health. "There could be multiple interactions with patients that are brief and effective."
Online interventions have spanned a variety of medical issues. One program, for instance, used Internet and telephone interactions with heart attack survivors and cardiac patients to help improve their heart health. A study found that participants' blood pressure and cholesterol levels fell, more of them quit smoking and they were one-third less likely to die than cardiac patients who did not receive the attention.
Several programs have popped up to help smokers quit. An analysis of 22 clinical trials found that Internet- and computer-based smoking cessation programs gave smokers nearly twice the chance of successfully quitting than if they had tried to quit without help.
Those successes have led the University of Illinois at Chicago to spearhead a $2.9 million federal effort to encourage young adults to use proven online smoking cessation programs.
Alcoholics also can find online support. A Dutch study found that one in five excessive drinkers who used an online self-help Web site to help them with their problem reported that they had lowered their alcohol intake to levels less likely to cause health problems.
And chronic conditions such as psoriasis also have been shown to be helped by online interventions. One study in Boston found that half of the users of online psoriasis support groups believed that the quality of their lives had improved, and two in five reported improvement in the severity of their psoriasis.
In some instances, the Internet also provides "nudges" to help push people into healthy habits. One worksite e-mail health program developed by Kaiser Permanente, for instance, provided participants with weekly e-mails and mid-week reminders that set personalized health goals for them based on an earlier survey they had filled out. They were encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables, lower their intake of fats and sugars, and exercise more.
A study of the program found significant health improvements among people who received the e-mails. They were, in fact, eating better and exercising more.
Even those with advanced fitness goals can receive online assistance. The magazine Runner's World currently offers online training programs featuring personal advice from world-class runner Bart Yasso.
Dr. Robert Mallin, an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, said such online programs could appeal to people who don't like going to doctors, therapists or support groups for help with their problems.
"There's certainly an advantage to having face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball contact, but I think also people who would never step into a doctor's office or a room with a support group will explore those things online," said Mallin, a spokesman for the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Online support groups, for example, allow people to gather information and communicate with others who have a similar problem while retaining their anonymity. "You don't have to participate," Mallin said. "People don't even have to know you're there."
However, both Goldberg and Mallin voiced concerns, too.
Goldberg wants to see large-scale studies of the effectiveness of these online programs before they are pursued to such an extent that they supplant regular modes of health care.
"When there's a concern about cost containment, we have to make sure the cost containment occurs within the context of quality care," she said. "This is a great idea, but I don't think we're 100 percent there yet."
Mallin worries about people getting bad information from Web sites.
"The biggest worry everyone has about health information on the Web is how accurate it is," he said. "I always ask my patients to run something by me they've read on the Internet or on one of those chat sites."
SOURCES: Nieca Goldberg, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine and medical director, Women's Heart Program, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York City; Robert Mallin, M.D., professor, Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C.
