A SURVEY OF 1,800 mothers in the Republic of Ireland found that four in ten mothers look to the internet to diagnose their child’s illness when they are sick.

The independent survey conducted by Eumom on behalf of GloHealth found that 43 per cent of mothers would turn to the internet first to attempt to diagnose their child’s illness themselves rather than taking their child to a GP or pharmacist.

The findings concern Dr Conor Fitzgerald who said:

Firstly, if your children have a serious condition, it might go undetected and untreated without a professional, medical examination by a doctor. Secondly, Internet searches often lead parents to believe their child might have a more serious condition than is actually the case, creating unnecessary worry.

The survey was conducted amongst mothers aged between 25 – 45 years old.

The survey also concluded that 14 per cent of the mothers surveyed relied on a medical card and 19 per cent did not have health insurance or a medical card.

The main reason for not having private health insurance was cost. They also cited their own financial difficulties as a reason for not having health cover.

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