Maybe I have been weaving my way through the web for too many years that shades my perspective cynical and jaded but there are few internet destinations I trust outright. Certainly not when it comes to purchasing drugs. Questions of purity, reliability of ingredients and quality immediately come to mind. Equally at issue is the folly of self diagnosis and self prescribing medications for self described illness or malady.

UK doctors have reported that a woman, who diagnosed herself with chronic fatigue syndrome and, on the advice of a neighbor, bought oral steroids from an online pharmacy in Thailand, is going blind as a result of the drugs she took.

Dr. Philip Severn and Dr. Scott Frase are quoted as saying, "Some of the drug therapies can be counterfeit and contain a concoction of compounds that bear little resemblance to the drug named on the bottle. Even if the patient receives the actual drug, there are many problems with this unchecked availability, including interactions with coexisting treatment, side effects and the lack of careful medical monitoring."

I understand some of the growing frustration towards mainstream medicine. Doctors are human, some are better at being human than others and some will care for you in a more competent and caring manner than others in the same profession. Some doctors even make outrageous mistakes. But I would suggest anyone self diagnosing and self medicating based on a self diagnosis, to consider the fact that doctors spend years in medical training and are distinctly more qualified to properly diagnose disease and make informed decisions to the proper medications needed for that disease.

The internet has provided a phenomenal opportunity in the ability to research disease and the different treatments available -- and to buy drugs with little restriction and enforceable regulation. But without collaborating with an educated doctor as to your findings before ordering drugs off the internet is risky business. You don't know what you are buying.