Don't mess around with stool samples
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.
Conventional medicine must first of all take a good look at itself for the fact that there are more and more of these unnecessary tests. We conventional doctors have ignored or even ridiculed the whole topic of gut flora and microbiome for too long. Today it is clear - and that is a good thing - that this is an important topic for health. Incidentally, this is also one of the reasons why we paediatricians are so careful not to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics, as these can damage the gut flora.
However, it must also be said that from a conventional medical point of view: Unfortunately, we still know very little about the microbiome, its composition and its function. We don't really know any markers where we can clearly say that this is pathological and we need to do this or that therapy. We don't even know whether one value is okay in one person and not okay in another. We don't know how the individual gut bacteria interact in the microbiome. This means that the state of knowledge is (still) such that meaningful diagnosis and treatment are not possible.
And yet extremely extensive tests are increasingly being offered, usually costing between 150 and 200 euros, from which therapy suggestions are often derived that are scientifically untenable.
That's why our attitude in practice is that we don't know what to do with these tests and advise parents not to go ahead with them.
However, we are, of course, always available for all topics relating to digestive complaints and abdominal pain. And there are also a few useful stool tests, for example for an inflammation marker called calprotectin, which we of course also carry out.
If you would like to read more about this topic, here is a link to a very good article: www.cme-kurs.de/kurse/sinn-und-unsinn-von-stuhlanalysen/
Further interesting tips
Dark circles
The question of whether dark circles under the eyes in children are dangerous or a sign of a serious illness pops up again and again in everyday practice. First of all, it's understandable where the idea comes from - but basically it's just a myth.
Advertising ban for sweets & co
In the UK, there has been a ban on advertising extremely unhealthy foods since January 2026. Specifically, products with significantly too much salt or significantly too much and too densely packed sugar may no longer be advertised on television before 9 p.m., and not at all online. Do we need the same in Germany?
Reading - a real superpower!
Today is the nationwide Read Aloud Day. And I don't think I need to say too much more about the great importance of reading aloud. Reading is a real superpower for children. Hence the tip, the advice, the request: Take today as an opportunity to read something really nice to your child again.