H1N1 Update: Microsoft Knows if You Have Swine Flu

Microsoft and Emory University have brought you an H1N1 calculator. If you’re worried you have the flu, answer a few simple questions, and it will help you decide what to do next. It’s like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novel, but I’ll save you a click and spoil the ending: the calculator always recommends you should see a doctor.

You might find the calculator useful, but don’t substitute it for common sense. Remember that most cases of the flu resolve on their own, with or without a doctor’s visit and prescription for Tamiflu, but that rarely people can have serious complications. Pay attention to what your body is telling you, not an Internet calculator or this website.

I wrote a column about the H1N1 vaccine. And while I’m engaged in blatant self-promotion, check out my column about a cocaine vaccine–I think this is one of the most interesting advances in medicine this year, with fascinating implications for the legal, educational, and public health care systems.

Tags: Emory University, flu, Internet calculator, Microsoft, public health care systems, Tamiflu

Gregg Miller, MD is a board-certified emergency room physician. Not nearly as good-looking as the doctors on the TV show ER, lacking the charisma of Dr. House, and much less scandalous than anyone o ...read more