Plus
Everyday health questions for one person
$9/mo
350 credits every month
Each month, roughly
- Chat message≈700
- Lab report, double-checked≈175
- Doctor search≈73
- WhatsApp reminder≈350
What a symptom checker can and can't do
A symptom checker is a way to think through what you're feeling before you decide what to do next. It is not a diagnosis. The most useful thing it can do is help you answer one question: does this need a doctor today, this week, or can it be looked after at home?
Saluvo is built around that question. It reads what you write, looks for warning signs, asks what's missing, and ends with which kind of doctor to see and how soon.
How Saluvo checks your symptoms
Red flags come before the AI
Every message goes through a fixed set of rules before any AI model sees it. These rules look for signs such as chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, a face that droops on one side, a sudden worst-ever headache, fainting or a fit, heavy bleeding, a fever in a baby under 3 months, poisoning or a snake bite, a swelling throat, and thoughts of self-harm. They work in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Hindi and Hinglish, and in Tamil, Telugu and Bengali scripts.
If a rule matches, you see an emergency banner with your country's number at the top of the answer. Common phrases like "food poisoning" or "stroke risk" are set aside so they don't raise a false alarm.
Emergencies are never blocked by credits
You get 3 free AI answers to emergency messages every day, even without credits or an account. After that, the banner and the safety advice still show for free; only the longer AI answer is skipped.
A careful answer, not a long one
When nothing urgent shows up, Saluvo gives a one-line answer first, then a few short sections in simple words. It uses generic medicine names, like paracetamol or ibuprofen. For children, pregnancy, older adults and anyone on regular medicines, it sends you to a doctor or pharmacist before any medicine. If it isn't sure, it says so.
Are AI symptom checkers accurate?
Honestly, not reliably enough to replace a doctor. Published studies of online symptom checkers have found they often miss the right condition, and they do better at telling urgent from non-urgent than at naming a cause. That's why Saluvo doesn't try to name your illness. It focuses on warning signs, the questions a doctor would ask, and where to go next.
How to use a symptom checker well
A symptom checker can only work with what you tell it. These steps get the most out of any of them, Saluvo included:
- Start with the worst symptom, then add the others. Say where it is and what it feels like: sharp, dull, burning, coming in waves.
- Say when it started and whether it's getting better, worse or staying the same.
- Give your age, sex and any long-term conditions, and whether you're pregnant.
- List the medicines you take, including ones you bought yourself and supplements.
- Mention what you've already tried and whether it helped.
- Read the warning signs first. If any match, stop and get help; don't keep asking.
- Act on the next step it gives you, and take the answer to your doctor if you go.
Checking several symptoms at once
Most illnesses show up as a group of symptoms, not one, and the group tells you more than any single symptom does. A fever on its own is common; a fever with a stiff neck and a rash is an emergency. So describe everything you've noticed in one message, even things that seem unrelated, like tiredness with weight change and feeling cold, which can point towards the thyroid (see our thyroid symptoms guide).
Saluvo reads the whole picture, checks every symptom against the warning signs, and asks about what's missing. If you already have blood test results, our lab test guides explain what common results mean, and you can add the report to the chat.
For women, men, children and older adults
The same symptom can mean different things at different ages and stages of life, so tell the symptom checker who it's for:
- Women: say if you're pregnant, could be, or have recently given birth, and mention changes in your periods. Heart attack symptoms in women can include breathlessness, nausea, unusual tiredness or pain in the jaw or back, sometimes with little chest pain.
- Men: men tend to put off seeing a doctor. Changes in urine flow, a lump in a testicle or a mole that changes are worth checking soon.
- Children: give the child's age and weight. A baby under 3 months with a fever needs a doctor now, and Saluvo sends you to a doctor or pharmacist before any medicine for a child.
- Older adults: confusion, a fall or simply "not being themselves" can be the main sign of an infection or another illness. List all regular medicines.
Is a free symptom checker safe to use?
It's safe when you use it as a first step, not the last one. Use it to get your thoughts in order, to learn which signs mean "go now", and to prepare for a visit. Don't use it to talk yourself out of care you feel you need. If something feels wrong, trust that and get seen.
What you can add
With a free account you can attach a photo or PDF, like a photo of a rash or a discharge note and your chats are saved. Every answer is charged at 3.5 times what it cost us to make: about 0.5 of a credit in Normal mode, or about 1.1 credits in Pro, our most careful model. Turn on web sources to have the answer cite trusted medical sites, which adds about 0.8 of a credit. If an answer fails to arrive, nothing is charged.
