Wow. Sarah Hyland is the last celeb I would've thought was battling a chronic disease, but the 21-year-old Modern Family star reveals her lifelong struggle with kidney dysplasia in the new issue of Seventeen magazine (on sale May 22). Not only that, but she's currently recovering from the kidney transplant she had just last month (her dad was the donor!).

Hyland was diagnosed with kidney dysplasia at the age of 9, but had to wait years for her condition to deteriorate before transplant surgery became an option. That means the actress was forced to spend most of her life balancing a successful career with a serious illness.

And since kidney dysplasia can cause everything from extreme fatigue to dizziness, pain, shortness of breath and nausea, this wasn't always easy ...

Insofar as really, really bad diseases/injuries/parasites I never ever want to get, flesh-eating bacteria is definitely at the top of the list. It sounds like something out of a horror movie, and with good reason: Aimee Copeland, the 24-year-old Georgia college student who contracted Aeromonas hydrophila after falling and wounding her leg on a homemade zip line during a kayaking trip, has already lost one leg to the lethal bacteria and is expected to lose more limbs, according to her doctors.

Poor girl. One minute you're kayaking with your buddies, the next you're going into cardiac arrest on the operating table. Good lord, what the hell is Aeromonas hydrophila and how do we stay as far away from it as possible?!

Well, first of all, the bacteria is usually found in fresh water, particularly brackish or muddy water (like the Little Tallapoosa River in Georgia, apparently). But don't put your kayak up on Craigslist just yet ...

Be honest: How many times have you turned to Google to get to the bottom of some random, perhaps very minor, physical ailment -- a funny red bump on your toe or a weird ringing in one ear or a stinging pain in your left elbow -- and ended up staring at your laptop in horror while mentally drawing up a will?

Yeah, that's what I figured ... been there myself quite a few times. Don't worry, we're not alone. But we're not necessarily doing ourselves any good, either.

According to a recent study, women are more likely to consult the internet than their actual doctor when they're not feeling well -- and the internet is more likely than their actual doctor to give them a false diagnosis (at which point they feel worse).

Ladies, ladies, ladies. What's our problem? Why don't we just go to the doctor?!

Ever since news broke earlier this week that deaths from Hepatitis C are on the rise, and the liver infection actually kills more Americans than HIV, people have been Googling their symptoms furiously to determine if they are infected. Obviously, they didn't get the memo that this kind of frenetic behavior only makes it worse. And in the case of Hepatitis C, it might not even be helpful.

Because here's the tricky part about the disease: The initial infection usually causes no symptoms in most cases. Even in the rare case that some signs are present (see below), they are typically mild and often just seem like a cold or flu setting in. And, that's exactly why so many people don't even know they have "the silent epidemic" until the liver has already been damaged, and it's too late!

But it's not time to panic yet. *Deep breaths.* Here's how to know if you might be at risk for Hepatitis C:

There are so many reasons not to like going to the dentist, so many things to fear: cavities, fillings, drills, root canals, bad-tasting pastes, those things you have to bite down on for X-rays (really hate those), even the look of disapproval on the dental assistant's face when you admit you may not floss every day. But now there's something new to fear: Legionnaires' disease.

Yup, the death of an 82-year-old Italian woman who had been infected by Legionnaires' disease -- which people get from breathing in bacteria-infected particles of standing water and which causes symptoms that are sort of like a severe case of pneumonia -- was traced to the water line in her dentist's office. And it turns out that dental water lines are a known potential source for Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires' disease.

Most of us turn on the water faucet and just assume our water is safe. And if you're playing in Las Vegas, I'm sure water contamination is the last thing you have on your mind. So imagine the shock of guests at the Luxor when they found out the water supply of the hotel-casino was contaminated with the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' Disease.

All sorts of tasteless jokes are running through my mind right now, along the lines of "what happens in Vegas ..." But this is no laughing matter. A guest of the Luxor died of pnemonia.

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day: Special K is about to get a makeover! Remember the drug's sleazy clubbing days in the '90s? The highly-addictive drug, called ketamine, started off as a humble animal tranquilizer but worked its ways into the hottest night spots, sending users into an ecstasy that made time stand still -- or, more accurately, into a "dissociative anesthesia" that could lead to a psychotic breakdown.

But here's the latest twist in ketamine's history: It could revolutionize the way depression is treated. I'm not talking your garden-variety blues. This is for real, serious, deep, clinical depression. How could something so toxic for club kids be so helpful for people who are ill?

Average hospital accommodationsEveryone in your family healthy? I sincerely hope so. If not, though, and you think a hospital stay of any duration might be in your or a loved one's future, you might want to start playing the lottery or hatching some other get-rich-quick scheme. Because the rich not only get richer, as the saying goes, it turns out they also get waaaay better hospital rooms.

Yep, according to The New York Times, for a few thousand extra bucks a night (pocket change for the ultra-well-heeled, I guess), a growing number of hospitals are now offering patients the option of addressing their illnesses in ultra-swanky suites, complete with four-star amenities like super-high-thread-count Frette bed linens; organic, gourmet food prepared to order by an actual chef; cushy bathrobes; well-appointed reading rooms; marble bathroom fixtures; and ... wait for it ... your own butler.