cyberchondriac
n. A person who imagines they have a particular disease because their symptoms match those listed on an Internet health site.
Other Forms
Etymology
Examples
2000
Cyberchondria, the deluded belief you suffer from all the diseases featured on the internet, is the latest condition to add to GPs' workloads. In severe cases, patients armed with print-outs from wacko websites install themselves in the consulting room and begin reading aloud. Doctors have complained of being cornered into carrying out dozens of tests for obscure, nonexistent infections, because the cyberchondriac has memorised an impressive set of symptoms.
—Lois Rogers, “The internet addicts who give their GP a headache,” Sunday Times, April 02, 2000
1996 (earliest)
But 'Cyberchondriacs' and Those In Need Log On In Ever Bigger Numbers
—“Internet health and medical info gets mixed reviews, study finds,” Business Wire, September 12, 1996