§1. What this disclaimer is
This document is the full version of the medical disclaimer to which the banner displayed on the medical-content pages of the Site refers. It applies to the entire Site eosinophilic-fasciitis.org, operated by Damian “Kuljo” Kuliś (the “Operator”), and to every page on which content concerning the disease known as eosinophilic fasciitis (ICD-10 M35.4 / Shulman syndrome) is presented.
Reading this disclaimer is recommended before relying on any content from the Site. The disclaimer forms an integral part of the Operator’s contractual position toward users of the Site and is referenced from §7(5) of the Terms of Service.
§2. The character of content on the Site
All content published on the Site is informational and educational in character.
The content is not, and is not intended to constitute:
- medical advice in any individual clinical situation;
- diagnosis of any disease, condition, or symptom;
- prognosis for the course of any disease, condition, or symptom;
- recommendation of any therapy, medicinal product, medical device, dietary intervention, rehabilitation modality, or any other intervention;
- evaluation of the appropriateness of any therapy, medicinal product, or intervention for any individual user, patient, or other person;
- a tool for the autonomous making of decisions concerning health, treatment, lifestyle, or any other matter affecting the body or mind of a user, patient, or other person.
The content does not substitute for direct consultation with a qualified physician or with another qualified healthcare professional duly authorized under applicable law to practice their profession.
§3. Who the author is, and who the author is not
The Operator is a person diagnosed with M35.4, that is to say a patient. The Operator is not a clinician. The Operator does not hold a license to practice medicine, does not act as a healthcare provider within the meaning of the Polish Act of 5 December 1996 on the professions of physician and dentist, and does not provide healthcare services within the meaning of the Polish Act of 15 April 2011 on therapeutic activity.
The content of the Site is the result of:
- the Operator’s personal effort to understand and document a rare disease that affects the Operator personally;
- review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature (with citations to DOI and PubMed identifiers where available, as part of the editorial discipline declared on the “About this site” page);
- contributions from patients and clinicians who voluntarily share their experience and expertise under the cooperation procedure set out in §6 of the Terms of Service.
The content of the Site does not represent the position of any medical institution, professional medical society, regulatory authority, or healthcare-services provider, and is not produced under the editorial supervision of any such body.
§4. Treatment decisions belong to the treating physician
Treatment decisions concerning any user of the Site, any patient, or any other person — including but not limited to:
- decisions to initiate, change, or terminate any pharmacological treatment;
- decisions concerning dosing, schedule, or duration of any pharmacological treatment;
- decisions concerning surgical interventions, rehabilitation, or other therapeutic modalities;
- decisions concerning diagnostic testing, monitoring, or specialist referral;
- decisions concerning dietary intervention, supplementation, or lifestyle change directed at the management of disease;
belong exclusively to the treating physician of the person concerned, made in the context of that physician’s direct clinical relationship with the patient, in possession of the patient’s full clinical record, and in accordance with the standards of practice applicable to that physician under the law of their jurisdiction.
A user of the Site is encouraged to bring information sourced from the Site to the attention of their treating physician for discussion. A user of the Site is discouraged from acting independently on information sourced from the Site, in modification of an established treatment plan, without prior consultation with their treating physician.
§5. Limitations of accuracy
The Operator endeavors to ensure that medical content on the Site is accurate, current, and supported by primary sources. The Operator applies the editorial principles declared on the “About this site” page, including the requirement that every medical assertion be supported by a cited source (DOI or PubMed identifier where available) and that content lacking a verified source be marked as a patient observation or as a mockup.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Operator does not guarantee:
- the completeness of content in respect of any topic addressed;
- the absolute accuracy of content in respect of the current state of medical knowledge — eosinophilic fasciitis is a rare disease in respect of which the scientific literature is sparse, evolving, and at times inconsistent;
- the applicability of content to the individual clinical situation of any specific person;
- freedom from error, omission, typographical mistake, translation inaccuracy in any of the six locale versions of the Site, or factual obsolescence resulting from publication of new research after a given page was last updated.
The “Last updated” date displayed on each medical-content page indicates the date of the last substantive review of that page by the Operator. A user of the Site is encouraged to verify, in respect of any matter material to that user, that the Site’s content has not been overtaken by more recent literature.
§6. How to escalate medical questions
If a user of the Site has a question concerning their own health, the health of a person under their care, or a medical situation requiring a decision, the user is encouraged to follow this escalation path, in the order indicated:
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In a medical emergency — contact the local emergency number (112 in the European Union, 911 in the United States, the local equivalent elsewhere). The Site does not provide emergency medical assistance.
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For a question concerning the user’s own management of M35.4 — consult the user’s treating rheumatologist or, where the user does not yet have a treating rheumatologist, the user’s general practitioner with a view to referral. The “Diagnosis” and “For Clinicians” pages of the Site may serve as a starting point for discussion with the physician.
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For a question concerning a suspected diagnosis where M35.4 has not yet been confirmed — consult a general practitioner or a dermatologist; if rheumatic disease is suspected, request referral to a rheumatologist. The “Symptoms” and “Diagnosis” pages of the Site may serve as a discussion aid, not as a basis for self-diagnosis.
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For information about patient organizations and rare-disease registries — consult the resources listed on the “Support” page of the Site, in particular Orphanet (operated by INSERM, France), which maintains the canonical entry on M35.4 (ORPHA:3165) and provides national-level contacts.
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For research and clinical-trial inquiries — consult ClinicalTrials.gov, the EU Clinical Trials Register, or the equivalent national registry, using “eosinophilic fasciitis” or “M35.4” as a search term.
The Operator does not provide telephone or written consultation in individual clinical matters and is not authorized to do so.
§7. No warranty; limitation of liability
The content of the Site is provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation any warranty of accuracy, completeness, fitness for any particular purpose, freedom from error, or non-infringement of the rights of third parties.
The Operator’s liability for damages arising in connection with the use of the Site is excluded to the maximum extent permitted by mandatory provisions of applicable law. The exclusion does not apply to:
- damages caused intentionally or by gross negligence on the part of the Operator, in accordance with Article 473 §2 of the Polish Civil Code, which liability may not be excluded;
- liability that may not be excluded toward a consumer under mandatory consumer-protection provisions of the law applicable to that consumer pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 (Rome I);
- liability for personal injury caused by intentional act of the Operator;
- any other liability the exclusion of which would be contrary to mandatory provisions of applicable law.
The Operator and the Site are not, in particular, liable for:
- any decision made by a user, patient, treating physician, or any other person on the basis of content from the Site;
- the consequences of any such decision, including without limitation deterioration of clinical condition, adverse effects of treatment, delay in diagnosis, or financial loss;
- the accuracy or currency of content of third-party sources cited or linked from the Site, including peer-reviewed publications referenced on medical-content pages.
§8. Relationship to the Terms of Service
This Medical Disclaimer is referenced from §7(5) of the Terms of Service and forms an integral part of the contractual relationship between the Operator and users of the Site as defined therein. In case of discrepancy between this Disclaimer and §7 of the Terms of Service, the more protective provision in respect of the user prevails.
The exclusion of liability set out in §7 above is subject to the limitations in respect of consumers set out in §9(5) of the Terms of Service.
§9. Changes to this disclaimer
The Operator may amend this Medical Disclaimer. Amendments shall be announced through:
a) update of the effective date and version number visible at the top of this document;
b) maintenance of the history of changes in the publicly accessible source-code repository of the Site;
c) in the case of substantive amendments, a site-wide notice published on the Site for a period of 14 days before the amendments enter into force.
§10. Contact
Questions concerning this Medical Disclaimer may be addressed to:
- Damian “Kuljo” Kuliś
- ul. Jarosława Dąbrowskiego 18/6, 02-561 Warszawa, Poland
- telephone: +48 600 130 255
- email for general matters: [email protected]
- email for data-protection matters: [email protected]
The Operator does not provide medical consultation in response to inquiries concerning individual clinical situations.