Comment Policy

Last updated: 25 October 2026

We welcome comments on GeoMed blog articles. Sharing experiences and asking thoughtful questions can help others, but health discussions need care. By posting a comment, you agree to follow this policy and our Terms of Use.

Before you post

• Comments are not medical advice. Neither GeoMed nor other readers can diagnose or treat you through comments. For personal health questions, speak to a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified professional.
• In an emergency, do not post a comment. Call your local emergency number straight away.
• If you are thinking about suicide or harming yourself, please contact your local emergency number or a crisis line now. You deserve support, and you do not have to wait.

How moderation works

• Every comment is moderated before it appears. Comments are reviewed by the GeoMed team and are published only if they follow this policy.
• Moderation can take some time, especially at weekends. Comments are not published in real time.
• We may edit comments for length, to remove personal information or to remove links, and we may decline to publish any comment.
• Replies from the GeoMed team are marked with a team badge.
• Publication of a comment does not mean GeoMed agrees with it or has checked it for medical accuracy.

Community guidelines

Please:

• be respectful and kind, even when you disagree;
• stay on the topic of the article;
• share personal experiences as your own experience, not as advice for others;
• say where information comes from if you refer to research or guidance;
• write in a way that is easy to read and free from abusive language.

What we will not publish

We will not publish comments that:

• give individual medical advice, such as recommending doses, telling people to stop or change prescribed treatment, or discouraging people from seeking care;
• promote unproven, dangerous or misleading treatments, "miracle cures", or false claims about vaccines, medicines or diseases;
• advertise or promote products, services, clinics, websites, social media accounts or businesses, or contain affiliate or spam links;
• contain personal information, including your own or anyone else's phone number, address, medical records or identification numbers;
• name or identify a patient, or make allegations about identifiable healthcare professionals or organisations;
• are abusive, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, hateful or sexually explicit;
• encourage self-harm, suicide, eating disorders or substance misuse;
• infringe copyright, for example by pasting large amounts of text from other sources;
• impersonate another person, or claim professional qualifications you do not hold;
• are written in a way that is mainly intended to provoke or derail the discussion.

Your privacy

• Your name is shown with your comment. You may use a first name or nickname; please do not use your full name if you prefer to remain private.
• Your email address is optional. It is never shown publicly and is used only to contact you about your comment.
• Think carefully before sharing details about your health. Published comments are public and may be indexed by search engines.

How we handle comment data is explained in our Privacy Policy.

Removing or reporting a comment

• To ask us to remove a comment you wrote, or to report a comment that breaks this policy, contact us through our contact page with the page address and the name shown on the comment.
• We aim to review reports within 3 working days and will act faster on anything that suggests a risk of harm.

Repeated breaches

We may block comments from people who repeatedly break this policy, and we may report illegal content to the appropriate authorities.

Legal responsibility for comments

You are legally responsible for what you post. You must not post anything defamatory, unlawful, infringing, misleading or in breach of any duty of confidence or privacy. By posting a comment, you grant GeoMed the licence described in our Terms of Use and confirm that your comment complies with this policy.

No obligation to monitor

Although every comment is moderated before publication, moderation is intended to keep discussions safe and on topic; it is not a verification of accuracy. GeoMed is under no obligation to monitor, publish, retain or respond to comments, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for comments posted by users.

Cooperation with authorities

We may disclose information about a commenter where required by law, where necessary to protect the safety of any person, or in response to a valid legal request from a competent authority, in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Healthcare professionals

Healthcare professionals are welcome to comment but must not provide individual clinical advice to other readers through comments, must not solicit patients and should make clear when they are expressing a personal opinion. Claims of professional status may be verified before a team or professional badge is shown.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed.