Health and research safety

• Describe personal experience as personal experience. Do not present one person's outcome as proof that another person will have the same result.
• Do not impersonate a clinician, pharmacist, veterinarian, scientist, regulator, laboratory, or other qualified professional. If credentials are relevant, describe them accurately and do not imply that the forum verified them.
• Do not diagnose another member, issue an individualized prescription, guarantee effectiveness or safety, or tell someone to delay urgent professional care.

Use particular care with severe or rapidly changing symptoms, possible overdose or contamination, allergic reactions, pregnancy or breastfeeding, children, pets, major mental-health concerns, or threats of self-harm. Encourage appropriate local professional or emergency help instead of attempting to manage an urgent situation through forum replies.

• Identify whether a statement comes from personal experience, a label, a vendor, a laboratory report, published research, or another source.
• When relying on a test report, include enough context to understand the product or batch, date, method or laboratory, result, limitations, and who authorized publication.
• Do not fabricate, alter, selectively crop, or misleadingly reuse a certificate, result, image, citation, or professional statement.
• Commercial participants must not use health or research discussion to evade the commercial content policy.

Product status, import rules, prescribing requirements, research restrictions, and permitted claims differ by location and change over time. Members and Vendors are responsible for checking the rules that apply to them. Staff may add context, limit a claim, remove dangerous misinformation or fabricated evidence, close a thread, or refer a commercial account for review.

Use Report for unsafe instructions, false professional identity, altered evidence, undisclosed promotion, or content that may create an immediate risk.