Top 5 Online Health Tools

If you’re old enough to remember when the Internet was not commonly used for research, then you probably appreciate the advances that have been made in the ability to monitor your own health.

In the past, people ignored health problems until they became serious issues or had to visit their doctor to have common tests done in order to determine their health levels.

With the amount of information available online, more and more people are turning to the internet to learn about healthy living, monitor their own health, and make informed medical decisions.

There are a number of websites with tools that allow you to check symptoms, understand health issues, calculate factors that may put you at risk, and offer solutions.

Some of them are oriented more toward common health problems such as weight disorders or heart conditions, while others are more symptoms based.

Here is a look at the top five online health tools you can utilize to address both areas, based on credibility, accuracy, and usefulness.

Basic Health

For basic health, such as being able to check calories, BMI, weight, risk of heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and similar conditions, the best sites are:

Healthtoolsonline.com

Based in India and Australasia originally, this site offers health care tools, a personal health profile, and health risk assessment tools.

It allows you to check lung conditions, orthopedics, anatomy, heart conditions, gastroenterological symptoms, and more.

It contains health calculators related to basic health and fitness, diet and nutrition, pregnancy and child care, and health risks.

Because the organization is based in Asia, the calculators work with the metric system, so you’ll have to know your weight, height, and other dimensions metrically, but these can be easily calculated through Google or other free online tools.

Sparkpeople.com

This site has tips and tricks for health tracking. It includes a calorie counter and a diet/fitness counter. It seems primarily focused towards weight loss, though it does emphasize healthy living in general.

It’s one of the more popular online health sites, advertising more than 12 million people, which does speak for its reputation.

Health.com

It contains tools and trackers for bladder and bowel symptoms, blood pressure, body temp, cholesterol, medications, diet, lab results, sleep, and more.

They also offer information on common issues such as celiac disease, acid reflux, Crohn’s disease, depression, fibromyalgia, insomnia, and more.

They advertise tools to build a complete personal health record, and membership is free. They offer premium memberships with access to advanced tools.

Symptom Based Health

Webmd.com

Perhaps the best known and oldest online tool, WebMD has extensive information on symptoms, diseases, and medical measures that may be taken.

They have access to information about doctors and a medical dictionary and are a favored tool of many people before they call their doctors to arrange an appointment. WebMD also offers information on the latest health news and articles. No membership is required.

Familydoctor.org

Though not as well-known as WebMD, Family Doctor offers similar contents, allowing users to search by symptom.

They also provide a symptom checker flowchart that allows visitors to track symptoms for the purpose of diagnosis.

They offer tools such as a BMI calculator, help with immunization schedules, and a questionnaire designed to identify nutrient deficiencies.