In my profession what I find most challenging is  getting a proper history from the patients  or should I say parents  . They expect you to make a  proper diagnosis with incomplete and sometimes bizarre medical histories. Most do not remember the  medicines they are administering diligently with or sometimes without consulting a doctor. The hapless medicos have to try their best to fill in the gaps. Most of the antibiotics are dismissed as “those white powders which you have to make up with water” and all cough/cold medications are   “tonics.”  I am not dealing with illiterate villagers, most of the parents are English speaking professionals. It is quite a task  and sometimes I feel that  I have to be a medical detective to unravel the mysteries. If a kid is having a fever, we have to know the duration and associated symptoms. It could vary from 1 day to “many” days and then I have to choose. Also, there are many who tend to exaggerate-a mild viral illness is presented as a  complicated syndrome with mindboggling symptoms. Some may bring in imaginary complaints   just to get medicines. Another type of parents are those who keep thick files of their tiny tots documenting each and every cough, sneeze and what have you. So when I ask what is the complaint, they hand over this file expecting me to go through each page and decipher those scribbles-oh, yes, most doctors have horrible handwriting. Sometimes I wish  that my patients  come to me on their own without their smart  parents and their voluminous medical records,

..