In paediatric practice, the children who need the most careful clinical attention are not always the ones who look the sickest when they walk through the door. Sometimes it is the child who looks mildly unwell but whose vital signs, examination findings, and clinical trajectory suggest something is developing that needs to be caught early. I am Dr. Bharat Mehra, Consultant Paediatrician, Paediatric Intensivist and Allergy Specialist in Bangalore, and the clinical identity I have built across 14 years and more than 10,000 patients is grounded in one principle: comprehensive paediatric care means being prepared for the full spectrum, from the well-child visit through to the critically ill child.
My Qualifications - What Each Credential Adds
I hold MBBS and MD in Paediatrics as my clinical foundation. To these I have added four specialist qualifications, each of which adds a distinct clinical capability. FPECC, the Fellowship in Paediatric Emergency and Critical Care, and IFPCCM, the Indian Fellowship in Paediatric Critical Care Medicine, give me the training to manage children at the acute end of the clinical spectrum - the child in respiratory distress, the child with septic shock, the child whose condition is evolving in ways that require continuous reassessment and rapid decision-making.
DPAA, the Diploma in Paediatric Allergy and Asthma, and AAAIC, Advanced Allergy and Asthma in Clinical Immunology, give me the specialist allergy evaluation and management skills to identify the allergic component driving a child's recurrent cough, persistent rhinitis, or atopic eczema - and to address it with the same rigour that the emergency and critical care fellowships bring to acute illness. The combination of these four credentials, in one paediatrician, in one practice in Bangalore, is genuinely unusual.
Why the Combination of Critical Care and Allergy Training Matters
A child with severe asthma requiring intensive care, and a child with chronic poorly controlled asthma, are not two separate clinical problems - they are the same disease at different points on the same spectrum. My critical care training means I am equipped for the acute end. My DPAA and AAAIC training means I am equally equipped for the chronic disease management that prevents the child from reaching the acute end. Many paediatricians manage one well; fewer manage both.
In Bangalore's allergen environment, where house dust mite sensitisation is highly prevalent, cockroach allergen exposure is significant in urban households, and Parthenium pollen produces a seasonal allergic burden that affects many children between July and November, identifying and evaluating the allergic component of a child's respiratory or skin symptoms is a routine part of every consultation where these features are present. I perform skin prick testing, interpret specific IgE results, build allergen avoidance plans specific to the individual household, and where indicated offer allergen immunotherapy for long-term disease modification.
My Approach to Every Family
My practice covers the full range of paediatric care - from newborn assessment and neonatal care through the well-child visits where growth, development, nutrition, and vaccination are reviewed, through to the management of acute illnesses, allergy, and children requiring specialist care. Vaccination is something I spend time on at every relevant consultation, because a parent who understands why each vaccine is being given is a more consistent vaccination partner than one who is simply following a schedule. I also see children from families who have concerns about vaccination, and I address those concerns with evidence and patience rather than dismissal.
Across 14 years in Bangalore, what I have found to be consistently true is that the most impactful paediatric care is care that knows the child - their growth trajectory, their developmental history, their allergy profile, their vaccination status, their family context. The clinical decisions that matter most are made better when they are made in the context of a relationship rather than an isolated consultation. Whether your child needs a routine check-up, an allergy evaluation, a vaccination review, or urgent assessment for an acute illness, I welcome you to book a consultation.
To book a consultation with Dr. Bharat Mehra in Bangalore, call +91 9999538720.
Written by Dr. Bharat Mehra, MBBS, MD Paediatrics, FPECC (Fellowship in Paediatric Emergency and Critical Care), IFPCCM (Indian Fellowship in Paediatric Critical Care Medicine), DPAA (Diploma in Paediatric Allergy and Asthma), AAAIC (Advanced Allergy and Asthma in Clinical Immunology), Consultant Paediatrician, Paediatric Intensivist and Allergy Specialist, Bangalore. Phone: +91 9999538720.
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