“10 shocking medical symptoms parents always overlook”, and “We all need to tell our doctor to test our children for…” These are two types of headlines I find unhelpful because they prey on people’s fear of missing something serious, and they ignore the damage done by over-medicalising normal experiences.

I’m a GP, and in my day-to-day work, one of my responsibilities is health education. I’m always trying to empower my patients to understand their health and to know what they can sit with while the body’s immune system gets to work and what needs medical intervention.

Coughs and colds happen to us all, and for young children, they happen on average eight to 12 times per year. Going to the doctor to get medication or to make sure medication isn’t needed can seem like the conscientious thing to do. But harm can arise from unintentionally teaching children that all health issues are scary or complicated and need to be seen by a doctor.

Teaching children that sometimes things can be hard or uncomfortable and that they can overcome them is an important life lesson. The same is true of teaching them that they can overcome minor physical ailments. Such experiences can help build emotional resilience.

At my clinic, I will listen to your child’s symptoms, examine them carefully, and perform any indicated tests. If every health problem had a clear objective test, my job would be much easier, but in reality, most of it relies on my clinical judgement.

The more frequently you come in to see the doctor with the same problem, the more likely it is that treatment will be prescribed. This is partly because doctors must take a parent’s ongoing concern about their child’s condition seriously. So, a worried parent saying an infection “isn’t getting any better” when it’s actually improving slowly can lead to a different outcome, possibly involving unnecessary medication.

Repeated consultations can sometimes increase the risk of over-investigation or misdiagnosis.

Medicine is rarely black and white, and no one person can be perfectly well all the time. If a doctor receives information that a child is sicker than they appear, either because they aren’t getting better or they seem to be sick a lot more than average, this can lead them to consider the possibility that the child has a significant underlying medical condition. For some such conditions, there is no objective test, so the diagnosis can stick.

Most childhood illnesses are short-lived, and the body, which has evolved to fight off infections, is incredibly effective at clearing them.

Also, most parents know if something isn’t right with their child. Trust your instincts and don’t let scary headlines push you into the trap of over-medicalising normal life.

Of course, if you’re worried about your child, seek medical advice. But don’t underestimate the body’s ability to recover from the ordinary illnesses that are part of growing up.

If you have a question for Dr Phil Kieran, please email it to parenting@examiner.ie or use the form below