Three myths in paediatrics
Have you ever heard these phrases or said them yourself? "The child has such yellow snot, it's probably something bacterial!" "The urine smells so bad, it's probably a urinary tract infection!" "The child is coughing so badly, it must be pneumonia!" You hear all these sentences over and over again and they are all, you guessed it, rubbish.
Firstly, the colour of snot or other secretions that run out of the child's nose or eyes does not indicate whether viruses or bacteria are the cause. Snot can be watery, yellowish or greenish in colour - the decisive factor is the overall condition of the child. These secretions usually contain various viruses and bacteria, but this plays no role in whether or not antibiotic treatment is given.
Secondly, urine can smell for countless reasons. Very often it smells because it is a little too concentrated, i.e. it has not been drunk enough. The odour alone is absolutely not an indication of a urinary tract infection. There are certain physical symptoms and a urinary tract infection requiring treatment also requires a certain poor general condition.
Thirdly, there are perhaps a few real medical freaks who have a mega-well-trained ear and who can make a suspected diagnosis of pneumonia based on the sound of the cough. In general, however, the sound of the cough is completely meaningless when it comes to diagnosing pneumonia (unlike asthma or croup, for example). A child can be almost completely healthy and have a loose, mucousy cough that sounds terrible. However, a child can also have very severe pneumonia and barely have a cough or a completely unremarkable coughing sound.
The bottom line is that all three sentences belong in the realm of myths. They have no validity and are not helpful in assessing your child's state of health.
Further interesting tips
Abdominal pain
A perennial topic in paediatrics today: abdominal pain. These are largely a phenomenon - because it is often not clear why children suffer from them.
Stool examinations
One issue of increasing importance is unnecessary and often expensive faecal examinations. Very few very useful tests can be carried out with a stool sample. But it can also be used to do a whole lot of - to stay on topic - crap.
Ticks
My conclusion after almost 15 years as a paediatrician in private practice: tick-borne diseases are probably the most overestimated health risk - at least from the parents' point of view.