Comments on: First Aid.?

By: aviemtb

aviemtb — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:27:26 +0000

If people are stupid enough to get medical advice from the yahoo answers, than take a trip to the emergency room. The choice is up to them. As Bill Engval would say… Theres your sign.

By: Nurse Soozy

Nurse Soozy — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:29:01 +0000

There is a disclaimer somewhere, I read it a while ago. Some of the answers on here could be dangerous if the advice is followed, especially as this site is unregulated – how often have we seen totally abusive posts that we KNOW get reported yet still remain to be accessed by all? The whole health section should be removed in my opinion, disclaimer or no disclaimer. There are thousands of valid and reliable websites and forums out there for health related matters. Yahoo isn’t doing its credibility any good by keeping this one going. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt by following the wrong advice because they don’t know any better. I understand that most people genuinely want to help, but ill-informed advice does more harm than good, no matter how well intended.

By: Co-Zee

Co-Zee — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:48:55 +0000

That’s an interesting thought. I think you could be onto something there. Are you sure there isn’t a disclaimer hidden somewhere in small print though. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t in this day and age.

By: dave a

dave a — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:44:05 +0000

too right! even if a disclaimer was put up saying ‘be careful of advice’ etc then i still think it is ethically wrong, this type of site is not where the publc should be looking for this type of information.

By: gousa199

gousa199 — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:36:38 +0000

no
alot of good people put good advice like myself it its somebad i put call 911 and get to the hospital.
my uncle is paramedic and firefighter so use the stuff he tells me

By: AJ's

AJ's — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:07:59 +0000

Some interesting points, I am a trained First responder for local ambulance service, but only trained in certain areas fully, but do hold a full First Aid Cert and train in Care, but i would not want to offer advice just in case, it can also be mis read if in a hurry or fine details forgotten by the time it is put into practice. I do think that NHS direct would be a better option for advice UMMM

By: Just Q

Just Q — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:34:09 +0000

You make a good point but I do see alot of good and proper answers though they might be lacking some of the finer details.
I think some of this could fall in the Good Samaritan act that has been adopted by several states in the US.
This says you have to stop and render aid if you are qualified to do so and to not do so can cause you more legal grief than stopping and giving the wrong advise.
People who stop and render aid can not be prosecuted for giving wrong help as without any help,there are certain situations that the victim could die.
Though there are Licensed Personnel that also give advise on this site,that does not mean that their advise is correct because there are as many licensed personnel who are quacks as there are Dr’s. . . so how can you fault some of the answers on this site?
I have 30+ yrs of medical experience. . Being an OR nurse,an Opthalmology Assistant and volunteering for the Red Cross. I make 90 or above on my CPR certification so I feel pretty knowledgeable in my advise. . .
Up to this point,I have not seen any real questions about life threatening situations nor have I seen any life threatening answers.
Most of the answers I have seen are pretty benign and often times too goofy to even be considered to be a real answer.
I betcha if you read the finer print of the Yahoo Answers disclaimer it allows for the circumstances you speak of.

By: CareBear

CareBear — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:48:47 +0000

As a current Paramedic for 11years I hear and have seen what you are talking about however, If people choice to accept their Medical Advice from a web-site such as this then that falls on the person not the site. Not all people here are giving wrong advice,myself as well as you pride ourselves on our work so all we can do is either answer the questions or stay away from this category

By: jcarrao

jcarrao — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:17:13 +0000

absolutely right…
as a trained first aider i think some of the people answering in hare must have some sort of undertakers business,
some of the advices are to sped up the death process instead of cure them.

By: Madkins0

Madkins0 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:21:21 +0000

The advice given in the First Aid forums is just as good and bad as it is in almost every other forum, from relationships to pet care.
Some of the answerers are clearly insane, but this kind of forum has been around for a LONG time online (I used to be a part of Ask Jeeve’s AnswerPoint many years ago) and the likelihood of being sued is not very realistic.
Yahoo could post warnings up the ying-yang and people would ignore them.
The choice is really yours- you can participate and try to raise the level of answer quality, or you can wash your hands of it and try to help people in another arena.