Using the internet is a very popular way to find health information, but can you be sure that what you find is accurate and reliable? Here we give you some tips on how to make the most of your browsing.

The Do's and Don'ts for using health information on the internet safely:

Do...

• Ask your healthcare team if they can recommend any good and relevant sites.
• Be cautious about buying medical products on the internet. In most countries, selling and buying medical products via the internet is currently an illegal activity. You are far better obtaining medical products through pharmacies.
• Beware of sites offering a cure for diabetes. Research advances every day, but there is no known cure at present.
• Be sceptical of a product that is described as secret.
• Do not stop taking your current treatments if you are advised to do so. Always check with your healthcare team before changing your medication or regimen.
• Check that links are still ‘live’. ‘Dead’ links tend to indicate that other information on the site will also be out of date.
• Be critical. Remember that if it sounds unbelievable, it probably is.
• Educate yourself. Learn how to evaluate research results.
• Check the references of anyone you deal with.

Don't...

• Don’t be fooled by the use of high-tech websites. Just because a site looks good with lots of slick graphics, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the content will be high quality.
• Don’t rely on search engines. Instead, find a reliable source of medical information. The Diabetes UK site has a number of useful links to other credible sites.
• Don’t provide confidential medical, personal or financial information, even in a survey format, unless you are absolutely sure you are providing it to a reputable organisation and it will be treated in confidence.
• Don’t give your computer or email password to anyone.
• Don’t respond to unsolicited emails as the sender will then know that yours is a ‘live’ address.
• If you are unable to check information with your doctor, or a member of your healthcare team, contact a reputable organisation like Diabetes UK. The Diabetes UK Careline may be able to advise you - call 0845 120 2960* or email careline@diabetes.org.uk.

*Depending on your phone package, calls to 0845 numbers may be free. Otherwise, calls to this number from a BT landline can incur a 9.05p set-up charge plus an additional charge of up to 5.25p per minute. Please check with your phone provider for further details of costs to 0845 numbers. Alternatively, call 020 7424 1000 and ask Reception to transfer your call to the Careline.