MayoClinic.com adds symptom checker to online tools

MayoClinic.com adds symptom checker to online tools

The new Symptom Checker on MayoClinic.com lets users search for the most common causes of their symptoms. The site, which accepts advertising from pharma sponsors, features 28 adult symptoms and 17 child symptoms. Online searches for symptoms typically yield too many results, so the tool helps users sort through their symptoms and narrow down the possible causes, reports the Mayo Clinic. Users can click on their symptoms and add specific characteristics to further identify their problem. For example, for adult abdominal pain, users can specify the type of pain they feel, such as whether it's burning or crampy, what triggers the pain, what relieves it, and what other symptoms accompany it. Based on the specifications, the tool will produce a list of possible causes of the pain, and each one can be clicked for in-depth features. There are links to about 200 articles, according to the site.