This New Google Update is Here to Save You From WebMD

You're feeling a little under the weather, so you head straight to the WebMD machine to find out exactly what's ailing you. Sure enough, that sore throat is the worse than you thought, and you probably have the plague. Woe is you. 
    
But you don't have the plague. You never do. Thankfully, Google is here to save us from WebMD -- and ourselves -- with a new update to its health conditions search tool. The tool, originally originally launched back in February, is meant to be the anti-WebMD, with no-nonsense descriptions of maladies, diseases, along with their symptoms, all curated by medical experts. 

If you search something like "flu symptoms,"you'll see Google's own disease guide ( along with typical outside sites), complete with overview information, detailed symptoms, and possible treatment options -- all clearly laid out, without any room for fear mongering or overblown diagnoses when you only have a sore throat.

With the new update, there will be over 900 conditions available for search, all accompanied by PDF downloads to take to your doctor's office when you actually get checked out -- which was apparently a "top request" from the medical consultants.

Next time you think you're dying, go ahead and Google your symptoms like you used to -- but just stop right there.


Brett Williams is an editorial assistant at Supercompressor. He is not a hypochondriac.

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