Paediatrics

What is Paediatrics?

Paediatrics cares for children’s health from birth to the age of 18. It covers not only the treatment of illness but also the regular follow-up of healthy children, their immunisation and the monitoring of growth and development.

A child is not a small adult: from medicine doses to examination technique, from the course of illness to nutritional needs, everything varies with age group. Assessing children is therefore a specialty of its own.

Which conditions does it cover?

• Febrile illness and childhood infections
• Throat, ear and urinary tract infections
• Bronchitis and pneumonia
• Recurrent cough, wheezing and suspected asthma
• Allergic rhinitis and skin allergies
• Diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation and abdominal pain
• Reflux and feeding difficulties in infants
• Newborn jaundice and poor weight gain
• Anaemia, vitamin and iron deficiency
• Growth and development monitoring

Procedures performed

• Well-child follow-up: height, weight and head circumference
• Immunisation according to the national schedule
• Assessment of developmental milestones
• Advice on feeding and sleep routines
• Planning and interpretation of laboratory tests
• Diagnosis and treatment of infections

When should you seek care without delay?

• A temperature of 38°C or above in a baby under three months
• Difficulty breathing, rapid breathing or a bluish colour
• A seizure
• Difficulty waking the child, or extreme drowsiness
• Persistent vomiting, inability to keep fluids down, reduced urine
• A rash that does not fade when pressed

This list covers common warning signs but not every situation. Diagnosis and treatment decisions are made by your doctor after examination.