What are the best resources for answering health questions? Where do I find reputable information online?

The vast amount of health information on the Web can be daunting. Where do you start?

Easy! Start with the best consumer health Web site out there: MedlinePlus.

MedlinePlus was developed by the National Library of Medicine to help consumers locate high quality health information online. Available in English and Spanish, it has more than 750 listed health topics with links to symptoms & treatment, information on drugs, herbs and supplements, recent news, directories of health care providers. There is a section devoted to Senior Health and even a collection of narrated videos of surgeries.

You may also want to try these Web sites also:

NOAH (New York Online Access to Health) provides high quality health information in English and Spanish that is specifically geared for the consumer. Much of the information concentrates on care and treatment. There is some overlap with MedlinePlus. Start with the A-Z index.

KidsHealth has separate areas for kids, teens, and parents. You can search all three areas, and then limit your results. Although the specific categories are different, each area allows browsing by broad categories like recipes, drugs and alcohol, growth and development, or infections.

Cancer.gov is from the National Cancer Institute. It is a comprehensive resource with accurate and up-to-date information on all types of cancer, clinical trials, and cancer statistics.

Through SAILOR, you also have access to three health databases that index magazine and journal articles. The databases, together known as the “Ebsco health databases” are Health Source – Consumer Edition, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, and Alt HealthWatch. Most, but not all, of the articles in these databases are full-text.

For other health Web sites, try the State Library Resource Center’s Health & Medicine Subject Guides.