You may have noticed recently that when you search on some topics in Google, before the results on outside Web sites, first you see quick information on the subject such as dictionary definitions or basic facts pulled from Wikipedia entries. Google announced today that they’ll be adding medical information from legitimate, well-respected sources when people search for information about symptoms or health problems.

If you were wondering, Google says that about 5% of all searches performed on the site are about health problems or symptoms. With so many people turning to Dr. Google when they have a weird-looking wart or their kid as a sniffle, pages of search results and choosing one that is authoritative can be difficult.

That’s why Google is adding vetted medical information to search pages about some medical questions. This basic information includes symptoms, common treatments, some illustrations, and information about how common the possible malady is and how contagious it might be. The information that comes up has been vetted by the Mayo Clinic (which is also a good site to search for basic health information) as well as Google’s in-house medical experts.

Keep in mind, Dr. Google is not providing medical advice or diagnosis. It should not serve as a substitute for a visit to and treatment from your actual doctor.

A remedy for your health-related questions: health info in the Knowledge Graphd [Official Google Blog]

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