Medical disclaimer
What AllHealth UK is for, and — more importantly — what it is not for.
Immediate action required: call 999 or go to A&E if
In an emergency, call 999 now, or go to your nearest A&E. Do not use this website.
Call 999 if:
- Someone is unconscious, or you cannot wake them.
- Someone has stopped breathing, is choking, or is struggling to breathe.
- Someone has severe chest pain, or pain spreading to the arm, neck or jaw.
- Someone has signs of a stroke — face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech. Act FAST and call 999.
- There is heavy bleeding that will not stop, a serious head injury, or a seizure that will not stop.
- Someone has taken an overdose, or you think they are about to seriously harm themselves.
If you need help urgently but it is not life-threatening, use NHS 111 online or call 111. Both are free and open 24 hours a day.
If you are struggling to cope or thinking about harming yourself, call Samaritans on 116 123 — free, 24 hours a day, every day.
What this site is for
This site provides general health information only. It does not diagnose, does not give a medical opinion on your individual case, and is not a medical device.
That is the site's intended purpose, stated plainly, and we mean every word of it. Our symptom pages and symptom checker exist to help you find and understand published NHS and NICE information, and to point you towards the right service — a pharmacist, a GP, NHS 111 or 999. They do not analyse what you tell us in order to work out what is wrong with you, they do not produce a result specific to you, and they must not be used as though they do.
Nothing here is a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional who can actually assess you.
Who writes it, and who does not check it
AllHealth UK is written and edited by a non-clinical editorial team. Every page is compiled from published NHS and NICE guidance and links to the source it draws on. It is not written by doctors, it is not reviewed by a clinician, and it does not diagnose.
No clinician reviews these pages before publication. We say so on every page rather than in the small print, because it is the single most important thing to know when you decide how much weight to give what you are reading. How pages are researched, sourced and corrected is set out in our editorial policy.
This information may not apply to you
Everything on this site is written for the general population. It cannot take account of your age, your other conditions, your medicines, whether you are pregnant, or anything else about you — because it does not know any of it.
The same symptom can be trivial in one person and serious in another. If your situation does not match what a page describes, or something simply feels wrong to you, trust that and get advice. A page cannot examine you. A clinician can.
Content is written for adults
Unless a page says otherwise, our content describes symptoms and self-care in adults. Do not apply it to babies, children or young people. Children can become seriously unwell far more quickly than adults, and the warning signs are different.
If you are worried about a child, contact NHS 111, a GP or, if they are seriously unwell, call 999. Never wait to see whether a child improves because a page on this site said an adult usually would.
Get advice about your own situation
For anything specific to you, speak to a professional. A pharmacist can help with many minor illnesses with no appointment. A GP can assess symptoms that persist, worsen or worry you. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day when you need help fast but it is not life-threatening.
Never delay seeking medical advice, and never disregard advice you have already been given, because of something you have read here.
Information about medicines is general
Where we mention a medicine, we are describing it in general terms only. We do not prescribe, we do not recommend prescription-only medicines, and we will never tell you to start, stop or change a treatment you have been prescribed.
The patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine, and the advice of your pharmacist or prescriber, always take priority over anything on this site. Read the leaflet: it is specific to that product, that strength and that formulation, and it is kept up to date by the manufacturer under MHRA supervision.
If you think you are having a side effect from a medicine, report it through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme and speak to your pharmacist or GP.
We are not the NHS
AllHealth UK is an independent website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, accredited by, funded by or connected to the NHS, NHS England, NICE, the MHRA or any government body. We link to NHS services frequently, because for most people they are the right first port of call — not because there is any relationship between us.
Where we refer to NHS or NICE guidance, we are quoting published material and linking to it. Doing so does not mean those organisations have reviewed, approved or checked anything we have written.
Links to other websites
This site links out to the NHS, to NICE and to UK health charities. We check those links, but we do not control what those organisations publish and we are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices.
Reporting an error
If anything on this site is wrong, out of date, unclear or unsafe, please tell us. Email hello@allhealth.uk with the page address and what you think is wrong, or use the contact page. We aim to acknowledge reports within 5 working days, and we take down any page reported as a safety risk the same day while we check it.
We cannot answer personal medical questions, and we will not try to. Please do not send us details of your symptoms hoping for an opinion — contact a GP, a pharmacist or NHS 111 instead.
This disclaimer was last reviewed . It sits alongside our terms of use and privacy policy.