Online medical resources can help find what's bugging you
June
15, 1997
By JIM BROOKS
Medical terminology and medicine are probably fields that most
often create confusion among consumers.
I certainly have been guilty of walking out of the doctor's office
wondering just what -- in plain English -- I had been told was making
my sinuses throb.
Fortunately, there are a number of excellent sources of information
available on the Internet. A Web site can't replace your family
doctor, but you have a world of information available at your fingertips.
-- America's Housecall Network, at www.housecall.com,
offers comprehensive information on prescription drugs and their
side effects, as well as an actual online diagnosis library.
Input your symptoms, say, for a headache, and you'll get some sound
advice on possible treatments and remedies that may help you feel
better. A wide range of symptoms are treated, though not intended
as a replacement for your doctor or the hospital emergency room.
-- The Mayo Health O@sis Library offers some quick
and easy-to-find information from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.
A really neat First Aid section offers tips for minor injuries,
including summer-related insect bites and stings and minor burns.
You'll find lots of additional health-related information here
as well.
Point your browser to www.mayo.ivi.com/ivi/mayo/commmon/htm/library.htm.
-- If you're a medical professional, you'll probably want to bookmark
the Merck Manual online, available at www.merck.com.
The Merck Manual is an online version of the Merck textbook, and
is a great reference work on prescription drugs and disease.
The online version is searchable, though you need to be up-to-snuff
on your medical jargon if you use this Web site.
-- If you're just looking for national health statistics,
the place you'll want to look first is the Center for Disease Control's
Web site at www.cdc.gov.
It won't help your headache, but if you're interested in just what's
ailing the U.S. lately, you'll find the most up-to-date information
there, including flu outbreaks and other maladies.
NETSCAPE'S E-MAIL BLACKMAIL. The day after the official
debut of Netscape Communicator, the company revealed it is investigating
a possible security bug reported in its Web-browsing software.
Netscape Navigator is the most popular software used to surf the
Internet's World Wide Web, with an estimated 70 percent share of
the market.
On Thursday, it was revealed that a Danish computer consultant
reported a security bug in Navigator -- going back to version 2.0
-- that could allow Web sites to copy files from the hard disk of
someone visiting the Web page.
The consultant, Christian Orellana, has refused to provide details
on the bug to Netscape, the company said, until he was paid several
thousand dollars for the information.
Orellana first contacted Netscape on Monday, the company said,
asking for payment for his information, with instructions on how
to wire the money to his bank account.
Netscape does offer a "bug bounty" to developers who report
problems with its software; the top amount is usually $1,000 for
the most serious problems.
Orellana refused the offer of $1,000 for the information.
In an e-mail message sent to Netscape and reported on ZD Net News'
Web site, Orellana stated that the "information is certainly
worth a bit on the free market, and I am currently awaiting responses
from other parties."
After Netscape's refusal, Orellana turned the information over
the CNN, who then passed it to PC Magazine, which confirmed the
security hole.
Netscape isn't calling it blackmail, though the company's switchboard
reported was besieged with upset users when the report of the bug
was broadcast on CNN on Thursday.
"This is making us look like we weren't trying to fix it and
that's wrong," said Rosanne Siino, Netscape's director of communications.
"People here have been worrying about this night and day since
we got the first call. But you can't fix something you don't know
about."
TIP O' THE WEEK. Search engines are the next most useful
part of the Internet besides e-mail.
My two top choices are the Yahoo! directory, and AltaVista.
Folks who I recommend AltaVista to are often overwhelmed by the
number of sites that it returns when you start a search.
A search for a common term will give you literally thousands of
listed Web sites. You can't visit them all, and chances are, the
one most useful Web site is number 3,659 on the list -- and chances
are you'll never find it.
I have improved my luck when searching using two techniques you
might try yourself sometime.
First, try typing in a phrase or series of words about the topic.
For example, try "1955 Chevy Bel-Air hard top" instead
of "1955 Chevrolet." The more specific you can be with
your search terms the better.
However, AltaVista's search engine will usually give you links
to all the pages that have any one of the search terms, which adds
to the clutter you'll have to sift through.
Narrow your search down some more by using the plus sign (+) in
front of every search term. This tells AltaVista that you only want
Web pages that contain the search words you have designated.
Don't overlook AltaVista's ability to search Usenet, or newsgroups,
for information. Just remember that the information you'll find
via Usenet may not be as reliable or as useful as what you'll find
on the Web.
AltaVista and other search engines all have their own help sections
that can help you improve your chances of finding just what you
need on the Web.
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