Methodology

How a post on The Care Online gets written, checked and published, and what to do if we’ve got something wrong.

How posts are made

  1. A topic is chosen from a curated list. Every series keeps its own list. Topics come from the editor, from readers, and from the questions people actually search for.
  2. It’s written to a brief and a set of house rules. Each series has a written brief, and every post follows the same rules: no diagnoses, no “treats”, “cures” or “detox” claims, no invented statistics, no fake credentials, and no clinical citations we can’t stand behind.
  3. It’s reviewed separately before publishing. A separate review checks every draft against a checklist: safety wording, quantities and arithmetic, age limits, and whether the summary matches the body. Drafts that fail are fixed or dropped.
  4. It’s published and corrected in the open. When a reader spots a mistake, we fix the post.

How we talk about traditional practice

A lot of our posts draw on Unani (hakeem) tradition, Ayurveda and ordinary South-Asian household practice. We describe these as what they are: traditions with their own internal logic, such as “cooling” and “warming” temperaments. We don’t present that logic as established fact, and we don’t claim any ingredient prevents, treats or cures a condition. Patch-test first, stop if it stings, and take anything persistent to a qualified professional.

Sensitive topics

Some series go further than skin and hair, so they carry stricter rules:

  • Children’s health (Bachon Ki Sehat): guidance is given by age band, with the warning signs that mean seeing a doctor the same day stated up front.
  • Weight loss and weight gain: realistic rates only (about 0.5 to 1 kg a week for loss), calorie ranges rather than crash plans, no slimming teas or fat burners, and clear warnings about steroid-laced “herbal” gainers.
  • Health conditions: we explain what a condition is, what home care can and can’t do, and when to get tested or see a doctor. We never tell anyone to start, stop or change a medicine.

What we won’t publish

Diagnoses, medicine doses to self-prescribe, miracle cures, “detox” claims, or anything that replaces seeing a qualified professional.

Corrections

Found an error, a claim that goes too far, or a tradition we’ve described badly? Write to hello@thecareonline.com with the post URL. We read every message and correct posts in place.

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