Would you seek emergency medical advice from Yahoo! Answers?

I'm perplexed. The question below is one that is open here. I want to know if you would ask for medical advice that is of an urgent nature on Yahoo! Answers?





(I'm also trying to figure out the logic of the event. The emergency occurs, the person who witnesses the emergency says: Stay right there, I'm going to Yahoo! Answers to find out what to do.) Here's how the question was posted...








My sister just got shocked by a lamp while her hand was wet!!!!!?





what should I do, her hand is numb, and it stings, she even says she feels shocks up her arm





Please help!!!Would you seek emergency medical advice from Yahoo! Answers?
That isn't the first time such questions have been posted. Some fellow fell off a ladder and asked if he should go to the ER for a crooked arm.





There are also many questions of extremely personal medical variety here, which puzzles me, because if you are embarrassed to ask a doctor, why would you post for millions of people to see?





Either these people are so unsure of themselves that they need someone to confirm their impulse to get help, or else they are more comfortable with the computer than picking up a phone and talking to actual medical people. Whatever, we do try to help them anyway, don't we? We tell them ';GO TO A DOCTOR!';Would you seek emergency medical advice from Yahoo! Answers?
There is no way I would seek emergency help from yahoo answers.


There is a reason they have emergency at the hospital.. I do hope the sister got medical care.
Couple of issues here.





Apparently, the original question was from someone in Malaysia. Many countries do not have easy access to medical care. So Y/A may be their best source for advice.





Beyond that, the question indicated this was NOT an emergency. The woman is very much alive and simply has tingling and numbness. While certainly symptoms to be concerned about, it is not emergent.





Beyond that, as a nurse, I have no problem with Y/A. I view it as no different than having a problem and asking your mother, brother, neighbor, friend... for advice. It doesn't mean that you will accept what they say 100% as accurate, but you roll it into the decision making process. And having viewed many answers over the years, more often than not, there is very sound advice given here... along with with some crappy... I grant you. But just like getting advice from a friend, you still have to have the common sense to filter out the bad in favor of the good.
If, by your judgment, you or someone is seriously affected, you will do your best what you've remembered from FIRST AID: (A-B-C)


AIRWAY: you'll check persons mouth to enable him/her to breath and you will put him/her into position where breathing pathways will stay open


BREATHING: you'll check breathing by putting your face close to victim's nostrils; if no breathing, you'll start with artificial breathing.


CIRCULATION: Check the pulse on the neck artery (left or right side of the throat). If there is no palpable pulse, you start with heart massage.





DIABETICS often fall into hypoglycemic coma. If they are still aware, you lift the person into a chair and try to give him a Sweet drink. Otherwise you give an injection of glucagone or glucose, which diabetics have to have somewhere close...





EPILEPTIC ATTACK - you try to prevent person from self-injury, e.g. you roll a napkin and put it between his/her teeth to prevent biting of the tongue.





BLEEDING: press on the artery above the bleeding site...





If someone eats a lot of fiber pills (OMG!), gets nasty sunburn, just got terrible diarrhea...then Yahoo answers may be handy - you can get useful advice and reassurance in minutes.