It's not a brain tumor, it's a hangover

Women's health sites for when you need a little help with that self-diagnosis.

Published May 9, 2008 9:00PM (EDT)

The Internet is a blessing and a curse for information hounds like me, who can waste days researching a potential shoe purchase, let alone how to write a killer book proposal, where to vacation or what kind of dog is best suited to my lifestyle. (Would that there were such a thing as an information hound!) But nothing brings out the "curse" part like researching health issues. It's way too easy to convince yourself that the relentless headache that's been there since you woke up is evidence of brain cancer, when it's actually what's known in medical circles as a "hangover."

Furthermore, the top Google hits for a whole bunch of maladies will lead you to sites owned by people pushing particular drugs, elective surgeries, herbal remedies and/or plain old quackery. So what's a girl with symptoms that might indicate a yeast infection or a rare disease that will totally kill her if it doesn't leave her sterile to do? Check out CNN's list of reliable women's health sites, put together by a panel of experts. With sections on gynecological concerns, heart disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis and general women's health, here are some sites that can be counted on not to scare your pants off or sell you anything you don't need. Now if I could just get the Internet to buy me some Advil …


By Kate Harding

Kate Harding is the author of Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture--and What We Can Do About It, available from Da Capo Press in August 2015. Previously, she collaborated with Anna Holmes, Amanda Hess, and a cast of thousands on The Book of Jezebel, and with Marianne Kirby on Lessons from the Fat-o-Sphere. You might also remember her as the founding editor of Shapely Prose (2007-2010). Kate's essays have appeared in the anthologies Madonna & Me, Yes Means Yes, Feed Me, and Airmail: Women of Letters. She holds an M.F.A. in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a B.A. in English from University of Toronto, and is currently at work on a Ph.D. in creative writing from Bath Spa University

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