Should we ban medical questions on this site?

Question

I know that on several StackExchange sites (e.g Martial Arts and Personal Productivity), medical questions are closed as off-topic. I think this is because for these types of questions incorrect advice can have severe consequences.

Should we place a ban on medical questions here? Or are there situations where they would be acceptable?

And if we ban them, where do we draw the line? Some example questions we've allowed so far:

• What are the natural treatment techniques which can be used as alternatives to modern medicinal treatments?
• Potential health risks with keeping temperature in a house low?
• Can I recycle plastics at home by melting and molding? (has 2nd question asking about health hazards)

Note that I've placed the following question on hold, since at least for me it crosses a line.

• Is it healthy to brush teeth only with tea tree oil?

If we decide here that we will allow this question I will reopen it.

Answer 1

(Adding a second answer unrelated to my earlier one)

If the major component of the question is not about sustainability they should be moved to Health.SE.

Answer 2

Anyone can ask anything. Especially in the area of health milions of claims fly across the internet. I suspect your question is partly influenced by the fear that we will get inundated by questions that have little substance. I know my answer is ;-)

I suggest we judge these questions on a similar basis like Skeptics.SE:
Do they have an actual claim? If not, leave a comment and/or flag them as "Unclear what you are asking".

For those questions that do have a claim, but where the answer seems contentious, suggest that the OP moves the question to Skeptics.SE ("but do not cross-post"). The community over there is very strict on references versus opinions.

Answer 3

Everything we do, interact with, etc... could have an health impact.

How do you define a medical question? It all depends on the perspective and level of "interaction"..... Questions like: should I drink this or that? Should I paint the walls with latex paint (will my lungs be fine) ? Should I eat carrots from Spain? etc, etc, etc....

That being said, FORGET about even thinking of trying to catalog a question with being "medical" or not, because you simply can not make that separation.....

For me, I answer to you with a "NO"