WebMD is one of the most useful medical portals you’ll find today
The sheer abundance of knowledge on this site is so mind-boggling that we didn’t know where to start. The site has all the regular things that you’d expect from a medical Web site-the latest news, a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator and a list of the top 12 topics that people are reading about on the site. There’s also all the information you need to perform a self-diagnosis, but as anyone would tell you, there’s still no substitute for your real doctor.
Check-Up Time
One of the most useful features we found here was the Symptom Checker-just click on any part of the body, and you’ll be presented with a list of symptoms that affect that area. It covers both the male and female bodies, and you can choose between viewing the front and the back. We did run into a couple of issues switching between front and back in Opera, though it worked just fine in Firefox and IE. Another handy feature the site offers is the Interactive Check-up, plus a host of other interactive tests you can take depending on what you’re going through-including psychological tests to gauge your mental condition. All these tests are certified by experts, so they should at least get you started on what to do.
With the symptom checker, you can click on various parts of the body to link to its symptoms.
If you’re in doubt about the site’s automated tools, you can interact with a huge panel of experts-each with their own area of specialisation-via a public bulletin-board system or through their blogs. This is quite nice, considering that a lot of features-find a doctor, healthcare services, etc.-are US-centric. Here, however, you can get your advice no matter where you are. To be able to post on these bulletin boards, you’ll need to register yourself on the site. Registering also gives you access to live events, where you can share your concerns with the experts or the site’s celebrity guests in real time.
Choose from a prolific panel of experts to talk to
Knowledge Time
For all the information you need on leading a healthy life-diets, exercise or emotional wellness-head over to the site’s Healthy Living page. There’s also a daily informative video you can watch-this ranges from the “know more about” type to the latest trends in medical sciences.
The A-Z guides are comprehencive and excellent source of information
One of our favourite areas, and a must-see for even a casual visitor, is the A-Z Guides section. Suggestive enough, it’s got all the information on the site-be it symptoms, drug names, whatever-sorted by category and alphabetically. If you’re the kind who wants to know more about the tests your doctor just inflicted you with, then the Tests A-Z section is where you should head. The details of each test are very well-written and comprehensive, right from giving you an overview of the test and its purpose, down to how it feels when you’re under the microscope.
Finally, there’s the WebMD University, which runs periodic courses on all aspects of health-while we write this, it’s running a four-week course on child obesity. The university runs lessons, live events, expert interactions and also gives you an action plan to put each lesson into practise. You’ll need to register (or “enroll”) to be able to use this, too.
Whether you’re a health freak or just an enthusiast for knowledge, this is one site you shouldn’t miss.