Doctor Google apparently became our primary care physician or general practitioner and Reddit is the specialist. People who can't afford healthcare or are living in denial of their diagnosis turn to Reddit to find answers for their ailments.

A recently published study in the Journal of American Medical Association finds an increasing number of people share pictures of their genitals on Reddit to crowdsource a diagnosis for suspected sexually transmitted diseases.

We all look up symptoms on Google sometimes to find treatments or get an idea of what's causing them. We're always warned to take what we read with a grain of salt; after all, not everything online is accurate and each case is different. But with increasing numbers of people who can't afford healthcare due to rising costs and a system that's in disrepair, a lot of people must resort to getting advice from questionable sources.

This comes at a time when STDs are on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention some types of STDs are at the highest levels ever recorded! These STDs are dangerous and one of them, congenital syphilis, can have deadly consequences for newborns.

Antibiotics can cure the three types of STDs with the highest levels, including syphilis, but they should be treated early to prevent further complications, according to the CDC report. But without a doctor diagnosing it and prescribing the antibiotic, treatment will not be given.

What's more disturbing is that 20% of the people posting on Reddit had already been diagnosed by a doctor and were trying to get the crowd to agree with them that the diagnosis was wrong. Basically in denial over it. While it's understandable to an extent, it's a dangerous path to go on which can lead to harm for the people who have it and others they come in contact with.

In the social media age, everyone wants a quick diagnosis and immediate answers to their questions. The JAMA report found that most people who posted questions on Reddit got a response within minutes or hours, and nearly all got a response within one day. Aside from the cost, going to a doctor and scheduling an appointment can take a few weeks or more. The gratitude of getting instant answers is another factor that makes doctor Reddit more appealing.

Getting help from the internet may not be all that bad, but we need to understand the dangers of what we are dealing with to make more informed decisions. Educating people on the dangers of STDs and providing greater access to affordable health care options is one way to deal with the situation.

Many colleges, the University of Central Florida being one of them, include health checkups in the tuition cost so that students can visit their health centers with no additional cost. Many students are not aware of this service available to them. I think colleges need to do a better job of informing students of these services and providing them if they don't already.