my almost 3yr old son has been sick most of his life for the past 2 yrs. he has tubes in his ears...adenoids removed. now again he has had such a bad sinus cold and cough for over 1 month. and now has pink eye. which hes on eye drops for (went to drs yesterday) Dr. never gave him an antibiotic for his infection either. so he is just suffering through all this with no comfort. he also gets asthma occasionaly and gets breathing treatments. the dr . wants me to give him a daily inhaled steroid to prevent another asthma issue which ill start today.
i also suggested singulair for him which the dr did call in so give that to him but i dont want to give him an allergy med if indeed this is all just related to daycare germs. my issue is how can a child be sick 25days out of every month and that be normal!! and just keep pumping him with meds. i dont get it. i need some advise other my dr.
also the daycare is aware of his poor eye which he grabbed from a child that had pink eye 2 weeks ago. and when i picked him up yesterday they mentioned to me that his eye is draining yet never wipped it with a warm towel. ! so he was uncomfortalbe all day. today when i pick him up if his face /eye has not been cleaned im going to have to say something. mostly my issue here is is that much to ask for to have them clean his eye! every mom just wants there kid taken care of as you would at home.
All the daycare's my kids went to would never have allowed uncovered pink eye in the building, much less let it go untended. And his allergies and asthma can be flaring up worse because of his environment. It sounds like it's time to look for different daycare.
A child with symptoms of pink eye should be sent home immediately and should not be allowed to return until they have been on antibiotic drops for a full 24 hours. If your daycare didn't follow this protocol with your son, then they aren't following state regulations concerning illnesses and contagious diseases and that is one reason your son is always sick. I would find a new daycare immediately.
If your doctor didn't tell you how to properly care for your son's pinkeye, including how to clean at home to prevent it from coming back and how long to keep him out of daycare to prevent spreading, then the doctor is failing to do their job also.
I'm willing to bet a new doctor and a new daycare will greatly improve your son's health.
Just wanted to second the great answers you have already received. You need a new daycare ASAP. If they are this lax to let a kid with known case of pink eye to attend, well then they must not any any illness policy at all. No wonder your son is sick all the time! He is getting exposed to anything and everything b/c the daycare is not sending sick kids home! And if they are this careless about sick kids, how often do you think they are washing and disinfecting toys and other surfaces? I would be out of there ASAP.
I think you could really benefit from getting a second medical opinion. Allergies can make a person sick in many ways and for a long time. It is valuable to find out what specifically he is allergic to so that you can help your son avoid it. This can also cut down on the amount of antihistamine he takes. Keep in mind that an inhaled steroid will lower your son's immune system as well as open the pathway for opportunistic things like candida.
If the day care is a large one, it doesn't surprise me #1 that they allowed kids with pink eye to attend and #2 that they didn't keep up with cleaning his eye. I think you are lucky that the day care would watch your son during those days at all. I agree with you that every mom wants their kid taken care of like they would. In my experience that is more likely to happen with a small scale care provider.
Good luck!
he sounds like my son when my son was that age. My son from age 11m to 2 1/2 was sick every 3 weeks with a high fever (102+), ear infection, etc. I finally had him tested for food allergies. Turned out he was highly allergic to pears which he didn't normally eat at home (only when he was constipated and then it worked quick, but that was because he was allergic to it and i didn't know. ): ), but was being served at daycare every 2 weeks according to their meal menus.
As soon as we took pears and pear juice out of his diet, the fevers went away and the ear infections stopped. Seriously, he is now 11 1/2y. He too has ashma. He has been on allergy shots since he was 6y. He only gets maybe 1 - 2 ear infections a year. He has missed more school from asthma then ear infections.
Please keep a food journal and talk to a pediatric allergist.
It may be that he would be just as sick if he were at home. Some kids are just sicker than others.
I am concerned about this doc. I have never ever ever heard of a doc not giving eye ointment for pink eye. It is soothing for one thing and it kills the bacteria.
Now some eye gunk is not pink eye, it is the sinuses draining out the tear ducts because it can't get down the Eustachian tubes or down the throat and tonsils. Thus it just oozes out the eyes.
I truly think that I would have already taken the kiddo to a different doc. There is no treatment of the possible bacteria this child is keeping. If the doc's not treating the infection then this child will never get well.
Some alternatives to a pediatrician would be to take the little guy to an ENT, Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat doc. They deal with this type of stuff all the time. A good one will find what's not working and try to either fix it with surgery or give the right meds to take care of the base issue.
First, you might look up primary immunodeficiency and ask your doctor about it.
Second, from your post I'm concerned about both your daycare and your doctor. A responsible daycare would never let a child with pinkeye symptoms attend, ever. It's not serious, but it's ridiculously contagious. It's not their responsibility to clean his eye; it IS their responsibility to call you and ask you to bring him home ASAP.
You also should be getting clear answers from your doc. If they're not giving him antibiotics, why not? There are plenty of good reasons -- primarily, they don't work for viral illnesses, and it's long-term very harmful to give them when they're not needed. BUT, the ped. (or ped. nurse, or someone) should be explaining all that to you. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you're confused. That's your right as a mom. If you don't get the explanations you're asking for, look around for someone who will give them to you.
99% of daycare workers will not care for your child as you would. They don't care enough, are underpaid, etc.
I'd love to say you aren't asking too much, but I just cant.
I was having a lot of problems like this myself, and my doctor told me to take a Claritin, or the costco brand, everyday, even if Ididn't need it. It seemed like a waste of time, because it didn't work well at all the first few days. But, after about a week, I noticed a huge difference!! I haven't had any sinus infections, I have stopped taking Psuedaphederine, and have only had one cold/flu in almost 6 months. For me that is AMAZING! I totally recommend it. and, they make a kids formula, its one chewable a day. Maybe give this a try just to see if it makes any difference. It is non-drowsy, so it won't make kids cranky like Benadryl when they can't get sleep.
I would certainly see a different doctor, and maybe even a different practice. Also, maybe an ENT. I personally don't think that kids should go to daycare with pink eye if it is still contagious, and yes, the daycare should take care of it, but really I would be upset if my kids were exposed to it at daycare.
In Daycare is when they start to get sick all the time. Usually the first 6 months while they are exposed to new germs. What concerns me is the lack of precautions the daycare seems to be taking in regard to germs. If they are not wiping and taking care of him I'msure they are not to the rest of the kids. I believe you shoudl switch daycare maybe a more preschool/daycare. Yes he wil still get the new germs and for the first 6 months be picking stuff up but the professionals should be lysoling it all down and washign with bleach etc every night so that the germs do not spread .
I have a few ideas/suggestions:
1) It could possibly be allergies. they can present in many different ways. i once visited a new country and the first night there i had a couple drinks too many. the next TWO days i was bed ridden sick. thought i was hungover, right? NOPE. turns out i was highly allergic to the banana plants. one tiny allergy pill and i was a thousand times better.
2) if it is sickness, you need to re-visit 2 things with your daycare.
a) review their sick-child policy with the director. understand when a child is and isn't allowed in sick. and if things like pink eye are disallowed, find out why they are letting the sick kids in. including your own. if sick kids are allowed, ask they what they do to mitigate the risk to the other kids. if they don't have any good answers I'd suggest finding a good new daycare.
b) review the germ-control policy with the director. what do they do to keep germs from spreading? answers should include things like "wash all toys with a disinfectant/mild bleach solution each night" and "put toys that have been inserted into mouth into sink so other kids won't come in contact" and "all visitors must take shoes off at door OR wear in sanitary shoe covers." my sister was having a TERRIBLE time with her 12 month old getting sick over and over again, and she wanted to move her son but she loved the daycare too much. so she presented these ideas to the director and other moms. they center implemented all of them and he has had only 1 cold in the last 6 months. pretty amazing, hugh?
if none of these ideas make a difference (and I'd be very careful to try them first before moving onto my last idea) you may want to explore an immune deficiency with your doctor. the reason I am emphatic about ruling out other issues first is because any doctor worth their salt is going to tell you to try them anyway before he'll run tests. and you may just find your solution quicker and save a lot of painful tests and wasted time & expense.
When my sister and I start school (we were home until kindergarten), we were sick a lot for about 2 years.
I can remember throwing up at school while on my way to the nurses office.
But then it seemed to level out and then we only got sick a few times a year.
When my son started day care at 3 months - he got sick a lot - for about 2 years.
And then again, it seemed to level out and he got sick only a few times a year.
It just takes awhile for the immune system to be fully programmed and come online.
Hang in there.
if this was my child i would look for a new child care. it is not fun to be sick.. and it is not fun to be the mom of a child taht is sick all the time. i would find a small home day care with just a few kids to limit his exposure to germs. maybe you can find a mom with a child that wants to watch one more.. so there will only be your child and one more.
it is true some kids are sicker than others.. if he has the tendency toward asthma and ear infections... when eh gets a regular cold.. it will likely turn into an ear infection or asthma..]
my kids started day care at 2 and 3 years.. they were sick the entire first winter but it was colds.. and the colds never turned into anything else that requried a trip to the dr.
I'm a childcare provider.
If you don't clean the eye ick or snot it gets everywhere, thus is being shared with every child in the room!!!
When parents pick up their kiddos from my house I explain that "little Johnny's eyes may look a little red, I've had to clean them several times today" they are not caked with gunk!
Find a daycare that follows through with keeping hands, faces and rooms clean and you will have a child who is not sick nearly as often.
M
welcome to sending your child to a public place. i wouldnt even allow a child with pink eye in a day care or school! my own sister had it and i told her she had to stay away till it was cleared up.
what i would do for his sinus' is start a nasal rinse. he will litterally feel like he is drowning. but you need to get him to hold his breath while you put the saline up his nose. my daughter has been doing them since 3 to help with her allergies. i suggest the squeeze bottle. neilmed is the brand we use. when my daughters allergies act up we start nasal rinses once a day if they are really bad then its 2 times a day. she uses the squeeze bottle and i squeeze it in (so it shoots out the other side fast!) then i stop and have her blow out her nose then i do the other side till the solution is gone. then i have her blow her nose to get any remaining stuff out. i will tag team this with benadryl to help her nose stay a little dryer. your son can take a 1/2 of tpsn of childrens benadryl. if it makes him too groggy to a 1/4tspn.
my daughters ent was shocked that she actually tolerates the nasal rinses. it took about a week for her to sit through them with out a fight (because you feel like your drowning!!!!). now she will do them willingly and usually asks when she feels stuffed up.
