In many childhood illnesses, diagnosis and treatment could be undertaken on the basis of a thorough history and clinical examination. Most children have rather mild illnesses and many of them resolve spontaneously with time, quite often without any major forms of treatment. Most of the time all they need are symptomatic treatment to make them less uncomfortable and nature cures these illnesses quite rapidly. Many common childhood illnesses resolve within a period of 7 to 10 days. Thus, in the vast majority, no further investigations or tests are necessary.
However, in certain situations, some forms of tests may be necessary. This is particularly true when there are unexplained symptoms or when the diagnosis is rather uncertain. Tests may also be necessary to ascertain the severity of a disease, the extent to which complications are present or to determine prognosis. There are a legion of tests and medical investigations available to facilitate these processes. Decisions regarding exactly which tests need to be done should be judiciously done, depending on the circumstances. It is a cardinal principle in the care of children that one does not perform all kinds of investigations haphazardly but decide on essential investigations taking into account the clinical status of the illness. Blanket performance of a multitude of tests is generally specifically avoided in children. Quite a few of the necessary investigations are available through the National Health Service in the government hospitals but some of the more sophisticated tests are available only in the private sector. These are of course likely to be quite expensive.
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