There is a wealth of information available online regarding any and every health condition a person could think of and it is important to ensure you're finding accurate, reliable information. The following are a few examples of some trustworthy health-oriented web sites covering a wide variety of subjects, some all-encompassing, some more specific.

www.webmd.com

WebMD is a wonderful resource to have bookmarked. It includes a "symptom checker", an exhaustive database of information on health issues and medications, gender-specific health information, links to finding a doctor or hospital in your area and informative videos.
Whatever your question, make this your first stop.

www.everydayhealth.com

This is another very useful and very user-friendly health-related site. Covering all health topics from A to Z and including a recipe section, a "3-minute health check" feature, an impressive roster of specialists and a useful "toolkit" which includes a meal planner, a glucose tracker and a weight tracker, you'll find a wealth of information just a mouse-click away.

www.rxlist.com

For more detailed information on prescription medications, check in with rxlist.com. Here you will find articles, a "pill identification tool", and a vast searchable database of prescription medications, including detailed descriptions of how each drug works, any warnings or contraindications, indications, dosages, side effects and more. Any questions you may have about a drug you've been prescribed, you'll find the answer here.

www.sparkpeople.com

Voted Best Online Health Site by Businessweek.com, the main focus of Sparkpeople is weight loss and healthy living. Sparkpeople offers innumerable tools to assist your in your journey towards a healthier lifestyle, from exercise videos and meal plans to calorie counters and charts and graphs to track your progress. There is also a very supportive community for socializing and keeping yourself motived and challenged. Sparkpeople combines the best of all "diet" sites and, best of all, it's free!

www.mapmyrun.com

For those already physically active, mapmyrun.com is a fun and useful tool. Using their incredibly comprehensive map system, you can track the route you walk, run, jog or bike and learn the exact mileage you're traveling. You can also search other user's posted routes and find a new run for yourself, including details regarding whether the route is hilly, runs through a residential area or any of a number of other parameters. Also check out their sister-site, mapmyhike.com.

It goes without saying that, no matter how educational and informative they may be, no website can take the place of a trained medical professional.

Learn more about this author, Heather Lyn.
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