Editorial and medical review policy

The most important thing on this page

None of the health articles on this site has yet been reviewed by a qualified medical professional. They are editorial drafts, written for accuracy, clarity and tone, and every one of them says so on the page.

We have not written this paragraph in small print. It is stated here, and it is repeated on every article, in the footer of every page, and in the site's structured data.

We could have made the badge say "medically reviewed" and nobody checking would have known. That is precisely why the content schema makes it structurally impossible: see How the badge works below.

Current status

• editorial starting draft — 40 articles
• 8 safety-routing rules — all unreviewed, all flagged in the interface every time they appear

How the badge works

Every article declares a review status in its frontmatter. There are exactly three allowed values, and the content schema adds two rules:

• Claiming professionally-reviewed requires both a reviewer name and a review date. A build fails without both.
• Supplying a reviewer name or date without that status is also a build failure. You cannot leave a reviewer's name lying around on a draft.

So the reviewed state cannot appear by accident, by copy-paste, or by optimism. It can only appear after someone has been named and a date recorded — and a named reviewer has to have agreed to it.

Who needs to review what

These are roles, not people. No reviewer has been approached, agreed or named yet, and this table is a specification for the work rather than a report on it.

When a review happens, the reviewer's credentials must be verified through the relevant regulator before their name is published here. A credential that cannot be verified is not published.

Safety-routing rules specifically

The rules that decide whether a search shows emergency guidance are the highest-risk content on this site, and they are held to the strictest standard. Every rule in src/content/safety/ carries a requiresClinicianSignOff flag that the schema requires to be literally true, and every notice shown to a reader states that the rules are not yet signed off.

A detailed, prioritised list of what each rule still needs is maintained at the safety rules page.

How content is written

• Anatomical accuracy. Real medical terms, alongside the everyday words people actually use. Vague euphemisms cause more confusion than accuracy does.
• No diagnosis, ever. Articles present possibilities, not conclusions. Where a reader typed something specific, the answer is still general information.
• No probability. The site does not estimate how likely a condition is.
• Variation is foregrounded. Pages are written so that a reader who is early, late, or simply different does not conclude they are broken.
• No product endorsement. No supplement, cream, device or app is recommended by name, and none is linked to an affiliate.
• No shame, no stigma, no blame. Including for behaviour that caused harm.
• Emergency framing is not decorative. Routine symptoms never use alarm colours or alarm language.

What we will not publish

• Testimonials, star ratings, or "trusted by" claims of any kind.
• Statistics without a named source and a date.
• Anything claiming to cure, or promising results.
• Skin-lightening, hair-growth or hormone products promoted for their effects.
• Individual medical advice, in comments, by email, or anywhere else.
• Weight-loss or body-composition advice framed around appearance.
• Content generated in bulk to fill a category grid.

Corrections

Corrections matter more than new content on a health site. Every article carries a report a correction link. Substantive corrections are made visibly, with a note, in the same commit as the change.

The disclaimer

This is the disclaimer used across the site. It has not yet been reviewed by a legal adviser, and needs to be before launch.

Growing, Clearly provides general educational information to help you understand health topics and possible next steps. It does not provide a personal diagnosis, replace a healthcare professional, or guarantee that any explanation applies to your situation. The same symptom can have different causes in different people. Our articles cannot assess your medical history, examine you, or perform tests. Only a qualified healthcare professional can evaluate your individual circumstances and recommend appropriate care. Take warning signs seriously. If a symptom is sudden, severe, rapidly worsening, or accompanied by emergency warning signs, seek urgent medical attention rather than relying on this website. Do not delay medical care to read an article or try a suggested self-care measure. If you are a child or teenager, tell a trusted adult who can help you obtain care. Medical knowledge and local healthcare guidance may change, so use current, appropriately reviewed information.

Sources