year in review

Top 10 Health Searches for 2010

December 8, 2010 at 2:09 pm , by Amelia Harnish

I can’t remember what life was like before search engines—I turn to the Internet for answers about everything, even my health. Like most people with a computer, at the first sign of symptoms, I’m usually hunting down my own diagnosis before I’ve even thought about calling the doctor.

“People turn to the web for quick answers,” says Robert Glatter, M.D., a New York-based emergency room physician. “A lot of times when people come see me they already have an idea of what’s wrong with them.”

So what health woes were on our minds this year? As part of their Year in Review coverage, the folks at Yahoo! parsed data from billions of searches for the top 10 health-related terms for 2010, and the results might surprise you.

The list:

1. Pregnancy, 2. Diabetes, 3. Herpes, 4. Shingles, 5. Lupus, 6. Depression, 7. Breast cancer, 8. Gall bladder, 9. HIV, 10. Fibromyalgia

Pregnancy is consistently at the top, says Vera Chan, a Yahoo! web trend analyst, but it’s not just moms-to-be doing the digging. “Early symptoms of pregnancy” and “pregnancy tests” were among the top search phrases, which are likely from women concerned that they might be pregnant.

“Pregnancy also figures in reality shows these days—16 and Pregnant, I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant—and celebrity pregnancies spur their own round of queries,” Chan says.

While diabetes and pregnancy aren’t all that surprising, how did herpes get into the top three? According to the latest numbers from the CDC, prevalence of the herpes simplex virus remains high at about 16 percent. Plus, many people are uncomfortable discussing their sexual health with family, friends and even their doctors, so they turn to the web, Dr. Glatter says. The same goes for HIV coming in at number nine.

“I think there’s also an increased sense of the need for testing, so that may be why people are searching for it,” he adds.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, between 75% and 80% of all Internet users have looked online for health information.  But Chan says that women conduct health searches more often than men, which may be why diseases more common in women, like lupus and fibromyalgia, found their way into the top 10.

Dr. Glatter was stunned that autism didn’t make it onto the list this year. What do you think—anything else missing?

Photos by rcv3 and Mahalie

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Ladies We Love: Year-End Edition

December 31, 2009 at 10:22 am , by Catherine LeFebvre

We’re declaring it: 2009 was the year of the lady. From pop stars to the craze over our first lady’s arms to the launch of a little blog we’re quite partial to, ladies were making news everywhere. Some of our favorites from the year:

First Lady: Michelle Obama

First Latina Lady on the Bench: Sonia Sotomayor

Funny Ladies: Amy Poehler, Jane Lynch, Tina Fey

Chart-Topping Lady: Lady Gaga

“I Dreamed a Dream” Lady: Susan Boyle

Brave Ladies: Euna Lee and Laura Ling

Strong Lady: Dara Torres

Do Good Ladies: Angelina Jolie, Shakira

Ladies Who Deserve Better: Jenny Sanford, Silda Spitzer, Rihanna

Mad about These Ladies: Betty Draper, Joan Holloway, Peggy Olson

Vampire-Loving Lady: Stephanie Meyer

Curiously Captivating Ladies: Kate Gosselin, Nadya “Octomom” Suleman

Ladies’ Men: George Clooney, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

Ladies We’ll Always Love: Farah Fawcett,  Natasha Richardson, Bea Arthur

Happy New Year, Everyone!!

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