Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fixed by Facebook?

I was scrolling through my celiac Facebook page recently. There was a posting asking a medical question, if you realize you’ve accidentally eaten gluten is there anything you can do to blunt the side effects before they hit?

There were 57 responses! It was crazy, some of the stuff folks had you popping into your already distressed gut were things I'd never even heard of as "treatments" to an accidental gluten ingestion…aloe vera juice, digestive enzymes, Tylenol, antacids, huge volumes of water and probiotics. There was some practical advice…hot water bottle on yucky tummy and taking a “wait and see” attitude. But who is to say which advice is a conflict of interest from a person representing a product or advice from a complete wack-a-doo or true physician’s advice?

Most of the people on my celiac Facebook page are complete strangers with a common thread of celiac disease. There are some great recipes and good baking tips shared by all sorts of home and professional cooks, which I really appreciate. There are some postings about things going in the medical community or celiac news. But, seeking “medical” advice from just anyone seems weird, even risky. Or maybe not...maybe I am the only one who thinks this is strange.

Would you take medical advice from your Facebook wall?
Kendall Egan

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Unless I knew the person giving the advice or suggestion. Otherwise, I would probably ignore it. Also, I only have a slight sensitivity to gluten, but prefer gluten-free anyway. I went to a nutritionist, which is where I would start, especially if you're really sick.

Great post!

Lynn said...

Just like "buyer beware", the reader should be aware. I always take everything I read with a grain of salt but sometimes some good old home remedy might be just what the doctor ordered!

Pickles said...

I accept information with a grain of salt, because really, who knows where it's actually coming from. I'd rather get information from a more reliable source, such as my doctor/naturopath.