Health Forums: Great Health Advice Is Only A Click Away

The Internet truly is the information 'super-highway'. We can
log on and research almost any topic imaginable. More and more
people are turning to the Internet for advice on their health
and well-being. Millions of Internet users are active members in
health forums across the World Wide Web where they can log on
for instant access to health information and advice from experts
and other forum members. health forums generally contain
featured articles on topics of interest, and are updated
regularly, if not daily.

With the economy in its current state of decline, medical costs
are on the rise. The cost of seeing a doctor or other health
care provider is skyrocketing. There are a staggering number,
actually millions of uninsured Americans, who can't afford to
seek medical attention for common ailments and therefore suffer
alone. These well-designed and informative health forums fill a
widening gap in the system by providing much-needed advice to
those who can't afford, don't have the time, or simply don't
want to bother with going to the doctor.

health forum users will typically access the forum by creating
a username and password. They can also create a profile, which
is a recommended step in order to receive the most customized
advice available. Some health forums even have the option of
adding your photograph or an avatar of your choice to your
profile for a more personalized look. Once you have created
your 'free account', you are ready to start posting to the
various threads that are available, or even start your own
thread.

A good health forum will have a variety of topics, broken down
into subtopics. For instance, some topics may include weight
loss, pregnancy, cancer, female health, geriatrics, dermatology,
psychiatry, pediatrics, and sexually transmitted disease, to
name a few. Questions about acne would be directed to the
dermatology section of the forum, while concerns about
Alzheimer's Disease might be better addressed in the geriatrics
section.

health forum users have not only an opportunity to discuss
their own medical conditions and concerns, but are also
encouraged to proctor their own advice on subjects in which they
might have experience. For instance, if you've been successful
on the Atkins diet plan, you might want to add your encouraging
viewpoint and advice to others who are contemplating using the
Atkins method, or to suggest the plan to those who are on the
health forum to find a plan that works well.

Many people searching these health forums will find that there
are healthy and natural alternatives to curing or helping
ailments that might traditionally require medicine. This is a
great solution when considering that most medications have side
effects.

Health forums are scrutinized by a full-time moderator, whose
job is to ensure that posts are relevant, and to monitor the
forum for spam. This assures that only valid information is
available for users who are in need of information and advice.
The best health forums actually have a medical doctor or other
health care professional who moderates the posts and offers up
advice that he would give if you were his patient.

These boards may feature an "ask the doctor" thread, and the
doctor/moderator will also seek out posts from other threads
that he feels needs his expert attention. In addition, the
doctor may look for posts that are unanswered because no one in
the health forum community had the appropriate advice to offer,
or he may look for posts that are answered erroneously and
correct any misinformation that has been given. If the health
forum you are looking at has a doctor on staff, you can be
assured that the information on the forum is the best available
anywhere.

When choosing a health forum to join, it is important to ask
yourself a few questions. Does this health forum have a wide
variety of topics to choose from? Are most of the major health
systems represented - for example, cardiology, hematology,
oncology, etc.? Does the forum's website seem to be easy to
navigate? And perhaps, most importantly, is there a physician or
other medical professional on board who is readily accessible to
answer my questions?

It is important to keep in mind that serious medical conditions
require a visit to your family doctor. For advice of a
non-emergency nature, however, a well-designed health forum
meets the needs of millions of people who can share their
stories, give and receive advice, all from the comfort of their
own home.

About The Author: Caroline Cardenas is a health and fitness
guru. She is the administrator of a large health forum at
http://www.CureYourBody.com/forums/ where you'll find thousands
of messages covering every topic imaginable.