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Finding Health Information Online

by Joseph Gustaitis

In 1999, a California man named Larry Greene was sentenced to prison for five years and three months. His crime: selling unapproved, ineffective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test kits for home use over the Internet. It’s possible that people with HIV, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), used the kits and thought they were virus-free. Obviously, it can be dangerous for people to have HIV without knowing it — they cannot seek life-saving treatment and may not take the precautions necessary to prevent spreading the virus. “It’s unbelievable what [Greene] did,” a consumer safety officer with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was quoted as saying at the time.

About the same time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tested a number of other HIV kits sold on the Internet to be used for self-diagnosis at home. Every one of the tested kits, when used on a proven HIV-positive sample, indicated that there was no virus. Some of the Web sites claimed that the FDA had approved the kits, but it hadn’t.

Stories like these highlight one of the dilemmas of the Internet age: We have access to an amount of information that was unheard of 15 years ago, but much of what we can find online is unreliable or misleading. The field of arthritis treatment is especially open to dubious Internet claims, experts say. The FTC estimates that consumers spend $2 billion a year on unproven arthritis treatments. The agency lists as examples many dietary and “natural” remedies, including mussel extract, desiccated liver pills, shark cartilage, CMO (cetyl myristoleate), honey and vinegar mixtures, and magnets and copper bracelets. None of these products has solid scientific evidence showing that it is effective.

How can you distinguish between sound medical advice and unproven, untested, fraudulent, and even dangerous misinformation? How do you know when a product that claims to cure or alleviate disease is the real thing? This article explores the differences between reliable and unreliable sources of information online so you know what to look for, whether you’re considering buying a product that claims to treat arthritis or searching for health information.

Buyer beware

If you’re reading about a medical product sold on the Internet, be sure to look for warning signs. The following red flags on a product’s Web site indicate the product may not be trustworthy.

Stock phrases. Promoters of unproven or bogus medical products often make their claims using impressive phrases such as “scientific breakthrough,” “exclusive product,” “miracle cure,” “secret ingredient,” and “ancient remedy.”

Conspiracy theories. A favorite claim of sites promoting bogus products is that doctors don’t want you to know about the product because it works so well that it will put doctors out of business. Sites sometimes charge that the government, the medical profession, or researchers have concocted a conspiracy to prevent you from knowing about or getting a hold of their “wondrous” treatment.

Cure-all promises. Another ploy is to claim that a single product is effective against a range of conditions and diseases, such as arthritis, heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. That one product can treat such a variety of health conditions is as unlikely as it sounds. Be especially wary of products purported to be a “cure” — although there exist effective treatments for the above conditions, there is no magic-bullet cure for any of them.

Technical jargon. Be wary of Web sites that use a lot of inflated scientific language. Often, jargon is used to obscure the fact that the product isn’t backed by scientific research.

Anecdotal evidence. Fraudulent Web sites also tend to feature quotations from individuals claiming to have achieved phenomenal results. Personal testimonials sometimes seem promising (“It was the first thing that really worked for me!”), but they don’t have the same weight as information based on science and reviewed by experts.

Money-back guarantees. Another red flag is the no-risk, money-back guarantee. It sounds great, but many of the hustlers selling bogus products will be long gone if you ask for your money back.

Exclusivity. Finally, be on guard if the site tells you that it’s the only place you can get the product and that supplies are limited. Effective treatments are typically available from more than one retailer.

Be sure to talk with your doctor before trying any new treatment. A new product, even if it is described as “natural,” may interfere with medicines that you currently take.

Finding reliable information

You’ve learned that Web sites selling medical products and devices may provide inaccurate or misleading information to entice people into making a purchase. Does that mean that sites are generally reliable as long as they aren’t selling anything? Not necessarily. Web sites whose apparent mission is to inform the public about health may not have all of their facts straight, either. How do you tell whether the information on such sites is trustworthy?

Last Reviewed on January 11, 2012

Joseph Gustaitis is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago.

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