Radio

Now Playing

Quickyla Radio — Click to play

Health & Fitness May 26, 2026

Can you really diagnose yourself with common health apps?

Can you really diagnose yourself with common health apps?

Have you ever downloaded a health app, scanned a rash, or answered a bunch of questions, and then just blindly followed the diagnosis? I've done it before, and it's terrifying. Last week I had appendix pain and genuinely wasn't sure what was happening. After some internet-surfing and symptom-checking with an app, I was convinced it was a gallstone issue. Luckily, I made an appointment and got it checked out, but it turned out to be appendix appendicitis and got it removed. It was a close call, and now I'm more cautious about trusting health apps. What do you think - do those common health apps really help, or are they doing more harm than good?

Sophie Michel

8 Circle replies

48

152 views

25 replies

Sponsored

Discussion (25)

Please log in to join the discussion

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 4 days ago

apps are just a fancy panic button

9

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 4 days ago

not you thinking anyone cares

14

NA Nathan Thomas 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Apps are just fancy panic buttons with extra steps no cap

7

SO Sophia Thomas 2 weeks, 4 days ago

this person gets it

5

MA Martina Gallo 2 weeks, 4 days ago

same situation here used to use an app to track my period and was convinced I had PCOS after a few days of irregular spotting but turns out I just needed to switch to a different brand of birth control and now everything looks fine – except now I have to deal with the anxiety of being misdiagnosed and the pressure to get it right next time

0

MA Martina Gallo 2 weeks, 4 days ago

No way apps can ever replace real doctors it's just common sense but also kinda scary when YOU think about all the people self diagnosing with no expertise

12

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 3 days ago

yeah the anxiety of getting results from a health app just adds to the anxiety you were al.. *(edited)*

61

SO Sophia Thomas 2 weeks, 3 days ago

so brave for sharing this completely obvious thing

11

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 4 days ago

ok boomer

4

TR Tran Lim 2 weeks, 4 days ago

didn't read lol

13

IR Irem Polat 2 weeks, 4 days ago

actually 💀

IS Isabella Smith 2 weeks, 4 days ago

So you're just gonna WING it with apps diagnosing you then just kinda hope for the best 😩

EW Ewa Kaminski 2 weeks, 4 days ago

No idea what a diagnosis even means 😂

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 4 days ago

so brave for sharing this completely obvious thing

IR Irem Polat 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Tran didnt say you had to read the whole thread just the initial post to respond lol you're totally missing the point LIKE many health apps rely on questionnaires and machine learning which can give some insights but they're still far from being an actual diagnosis. what i want to know is how are you not just getting basic facts wrong that a 10 year old health textbook would cover

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 3 days ago

No bc they cant differentiate between symptoms

GI Giorgio De Luca 2 weeks, 4 days ago

oh great a boomer comment that doesnt even address the question 💀

6

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 4 days ago

yeah but like what if the app’s wrong and you just spiral into hypochondria 💯

3

LE Le Reyes 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Idk guys i was trying to use that app thing a while back to help me feel better about my anxiety but i realized it just tells you what you wanna hear and i think thats kinda scary when you dont really know whats going on but what about people who have real underlying conditions that NEED actual doctors not just some quiz thing

53

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 4 days ago

underrated take

SO Sophia Thomas 2 weeks, 4 days ago

this right here 👆

EW Ewa Kaminski 2 weeks, 4 days ago

imagine thinking this *(edited)*

LU Lucas Harris 2 weeks, 4 days ago

someone finally said it

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 4 days ago

couldn't agree more *(edited)*

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 4 days ago

underrated take

MA Martina Gallo 2 weeks, 4 days ago

oh god François CALM down — it's not like we're diagnosing ourselves like medical students or something, right? my mom actually used one of those apps a while back when she was having these super random pain episodes – turns out she had a weird interaction between a med and her body, not jsut some stress issue or whatever was hinted at on the app. but i guess the real question is like... where's the accountability, right?

12

EL Elizabeth Johnson 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Yeah francois i get why youre rolling your eyes but i tried that same app last winter when my throat was killing me and it kept telling me i had strep when i just had a dry throat from sleeping with the window open omg

4

IR Irem Polat 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Self diagnosed w chronic illness for years no doc ever confirmed it 💯

14

NA Nathan Thomas 2 weeks, 4 days ago

What about underlying conditions dude

3

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 4 days ago

My dad got a seperate separate* from one of these apps and ended up with a bunch of unnecessary meds and anxiety for weeks before we finally went to a real doctor and got it sorted

edit: this blew up more than expected lmao

15

IR Irem Polat 2 weeks, 4 days ago

crying rn

3

NA Nana Abe 2 weeks, 4 days ago

your symptoms are way more complicated than an app can handle lol

11

WE Werner Werner 2 weeks, 4 days ago

My cousin used one of those health apps and it told her she had an underactive thyroid, then she had to go see a doctor just to confirm... what's the deal with the 'algorithm' they're using? 😂

14

NO Nour Rahimi 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Most of these apps rely on self-reported data which can be super flawed, like if u're not actually tracking your symptoms accurately. also, how many of these apps are being used to sell "diagnoses" based on incomplete info, rather than actual medical assessment?

0

IR Irem Polat 2 weeks, 4 days ago

common health apps are basically just glorified symptom checkers, they don't take into account your medical history or even basic context, so yeah diagnosing yourself with them is basically just playing roulette. My cousin actually ended up being overmedicated by his mom because he 'diagnosed' himself with ADHD using an app and his mom took it seriously - it turned out to be just anxiety from school.

70

NO Noura Othman 2 weeks, 4 days ago

screenshotting this

78

LE Le Reyes 2 weeks, 4 days ago

saving this comment

8

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 3 days ago

this comment > the whole thread

6

FE Fernando Sanchez 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Diagnosed myself with hypertension on one of those apps and ended up on actual medication from my DOCTOR, turns out that "diagnosis" of mine wasn't so common after all

8

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 4 days ago

diagnosis via app sounds like a recipe for getting told I have "existential dread" and being charged $200 for a session of deep breathing exercises lmfao

15

SA Sade Ogundimu 2 weeks, 4 days ago

These apps can maybe give you some general health insights but self-diagnosing is like trying to repair a car w/ a YouTube tutorial - it's not reliable enough for a definitive diagnosis, you really need a pro.

2

SO Sophia Thomas 2 weeks, 4 days ago

that's crazy

1

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 4 days ago

no way

11

MA Martina Gallo 2 weeks, 4 days ago

lmaooo *(edited)*

0

EW Ewa Kaminski 2 weeks, 4 days ago

ok but like those apps just give you a panic attack for fun right they dont even ask follow up questions they just go nope youre dying go to er 😩

13

SA Sabine Weber 2 weeks, 4 days ago

glad I scrolled down far enough to find this

3

EW Ewa Kaminski 2 weeks, 4 days ago

saving this comment

14

NA Nana Abe 2 weeks, 3 days ago

why is this buried? this is the real answer

13

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 3 days ago

this right here 👆

14

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 4 days ago

first time posting but my sister occured occurred* a nurse and she's been saying the same thing for years - taht the accuracy of these health apps is all over the place. she said it's not the data quality that's the issue, it's how people interpret the results. personally, i've been using one of those symptom-tracking apps and i'm starting to wonder if i'm just over-diagnosing myself because of all the "could be this" and "could be that" stuff

14

EW Ewa Kaminski 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Your sis is a nurse so like shes not just gonna say her sister is fine and that's it

11

SO Sophia Thomas 2 weeks, 4 days ago

That's cute ewa assuming sophia's getting recieve receive* free pass just cause her sis is a nurse

FE Fernando Sanchez 2 weeks, 4 days ago

diabetes test with a toaster oven

3

MI Mia Persson 2 weeks, 4 days ago

But here's the thing - I used to rely on those health apps to diagnose weird rashes on my skin and now I'm pretty sure I have a permanent scar from scratching off a mild case of eczema. *(edited)*

9

IV Ivan Wiśniewski 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Been lurking and never posted but this one really resonated with me - I know someone who used a health app to diagnose themselves with a pretty serious sleep disorder, but then it ended up being something entirely different after a doctor's visit, so yeah, I don't rely too heavily on those apps

1

SA Sabine Weber 2 weeks, 4 days ago

just self-diagnosed w/ a headache *(edited)*

3

WE Werner Werner 2 weeks, 3 days ago

What kind of validation are these apps even giving people that they think they can just DIY their health stuff with some fancy algorithms and a few selfies 😭 *(edited)*

9

JI Jing Jung 2 weeks, 3 days ago

What’s the one symptom you’ve ever Googled that made you *actually* go see a doctor?

5

EW Ewa Kaminski 2 weeks, 3 days ago

My mom diagnosed her own kidney stones wiht that app and it turns out she didn't have kidney stones, but a rare type of ovarian cyst w...

edit: spelling

1

SA Sade Ogundimu 2 weeks, 3 days ago

First time posting but ive been using this one app to track my migraines and i swear it's helped me find patterns, so it made me wonder if i was actually better at DIAGNOSING myself than just going to the doc

5

IV Ivan Wiśniewski 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Works for some types of tracking, like vitals though *(edited)*

3

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 3 days ago

been lurking and just had to chime in - tried one of these fitness trackers and it got me to realize i'd been consistently overdoing it on the weekends and that, like, took a weight off in the mental health department

15

FR François Bianchi 2 weeks, 3 days ago

oh sure, because nothing says "reliable medical advice" like a 30-second quiz that diagnoses you with "chronic stress" because you checked "sometimes feel overwhelmed" and "rarely have time to eat lunch." — like my phone’s battery health app but for existential dread *(edited)*

14

Advertisement

Related Discussions

Categories