What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, or smartphone) when you visit our website. They help us understand how you interact with our content and improve your browsing experience. We use cookies to recognize returning readers, remember your preferences, and analyze how our articles perform.

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies we use, why we use them, and how you can manage your cookie preferences at any time.

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for our website to function properly. They enable basic features like page navigation, accessing secure areas, and remembering your cookie consent preferences. Without these cookies, certain parts of the website may not work as intended.

Duration: Session or up to 12 months

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us understand how readers interact with our content. They collect data about page visits, article performance, and user behavior patterns. This information helps our editorial team understand which articles are most valuable and how to improve our site's performance.

Duration: Up to 24 months

Functional Cookies

These cookies remember your choices to provide a more personalized experience. They may store preferences such as text size, language selection, or whether you've dismissed certain notifications, so you don't have to set them again on future visits.

Duration: Up to 12 months

Targeting & Advertising Cookies

These cookies are used to deliver relevant content recommendations and display advertising that may be of interest to you. They help us understand your interests and browsing patterns across our site and partner websites. We only show these cookies if you have provided your consent.

Duration: Up to 24 months

Social Media Cookies

These cookies enable social media sharing features and allow social media platforms to track users who visit our website. They may be set by third parties such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram. Social media platforms may use this data for their own marketing purposes.

Duration: Varies by platform

How We Use Cookies

✓ Improving Content: We analyze which articles readers find most valuable to guide our editorial decisions and improve content quality.
✓ Personalizing Experience: We remember your preferences and reading history to suggest relevant articles.
✓ Site Performance: We monitor loading times and user experience to ensure our website works smoothly for all readers.
✓ Security: Cookies help us detect and prevent fraudulent activity and protect your data.
✓ Analytics: We use cookies to understand traffic patterns and identify trending topics in health and medical information.
✓ Advertising: Cookies allow us to display relevant ads that help support our editorial operations.

List of Cookies We Use

Cookie Name	Type	Purpose	Duration
_ga	Performance	Google Analytics - tracks unique visitors	2 years
_gid	Performance	Google Analytics - session tracking	24 hours
_gat_UA-XXXXX	Performance	Google Analytics - request throttling	1 minute
mea_consent	Essential	Stores your cookie consent preferences	12 months
mea_session	Essential	Session identifier for website functionality	Session
mea_language	Functional	Remembers your language preference	12 months
NID	Targeting	Google - personalizes search results and ads	6 months
fr	Targeting	Facebook - delivers targeted advertising	3 months
__utma, __utmb, __utmc	Performance	Google Analytics legacy - visitor tracking	Varies

How to Manage Cookies

Consent Management

When you first visit our website, we display a cookie consent banner. You can:

Accept all cookies
Accept only essential cookies
Customize your cookie preferences
Reject non-essential cookies

You can change your preferences at any time by clicking the cookie settings link in the footer of our website.

Browser Settings

You can control cookies through your web browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

See what cookies are stored
Delete specific cookies
Block new cookies from being set
Block cookies from third parties
Enable "Do Not Track" features

For instructions on managing cookies in your specific browser, visit your browser's help documentation.

Third-Party Opt-Outs

You can opt out of targeted advertising from specific companies:

Google Analytics: Visit Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
Facebook: Adjust your ad preferences in your Facebook settings
Advertising ID: Visit Digital Advertising Alliance at optout.aboutads.info

Note: Disabling cookies may affect your experience on our website. Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for basic functionality. If you disable all cookies, you may not be able to access certain features or receive personalized content recommendations.

Third-Party Cookies

Our website may contain links to third-party websites and services. These third parties may set their own cookies on your device. We are not responsible for third-party cookies or their privacy practices. When you visit external sites, we recommend reviewing their cookie policies directly.

Common third-party services that may set cookies on our website include:

Google Analytics - for website traffic analysis
Google Ads - for content recommendations
Facebook - for social sharing and targeted ads
Twitter - for social integration
LinkedIn - for professional sharing
YouTube - for embedded video content

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we will update the "last updated" date at the bottom of this page.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies. Your continued use of our website after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated Cookie Policy.

Questions About Cookies?

If you have questions about our cookie practices or would like more information about specific cookies we use, please contact our editorial team.

Medical Expert Advice
Mill Lane 84
Edinburgh

Email: For content questions and feedback about our articles, please visit our FAQ page.

Last Updated: January 2024

This policy is subject to change without notice. We recommend checking back regularly for updates.