Almost 6Yo Always Sick!

I had my tonsils out as an adult for that very reason. I missed so much work that I was told that if I continued to do so they would have to consider terminating my employment. My doctor said that removing my tonsils might not help but if I wanted he would take them out. My health noticeably improved.

School can be part of the problem, as child after child comes down with something. Whatever it is spreads and then often makes a second round.

Tonsils are part of the lymphatic system that fights infection. That's why taking them out is as a last resort. Your son's tonsils are enlarged because he's fighting some kind of infection all the time, sounds like. It's good you're going to see a doctor - maybe more than one for a second opinion - to get him properly evaluated.

Maybe he hasn't fully recovered from something? Maybe it's something that has gone undiagnosed?

In the meantime, what time does he go to bed? 6 yo and sick a lot may need to be in bed MUCH earlier. Think 6 yo = 6 or 7 PM is bedtime. Then when they're 8 or 9, they can stay up until 8 or 8:30 pm, 9 pm on special nights. Then as teenagers, 9 or 10 pm is no problem. It keeps them healthier and well rested. YOU, as well!

Some kids, and adults, just need more sleep. Functioning tired makes you more prone to illness, child or adult. Are you confusing a child's "wired-but tired" energetic nature and desire to learn... everything... with true energy?

People - and kids are people - get used to functioning with too little sleep, and not feeling tip top, they learn to ignore the messages their body is sending them.

We may not go to bed truly early often in our "modern" society, but our bodies don't know the difference between living now and two hundred years ago. It's FUNCTIONING hasn't changed much - only our technology!

Remember, Benjamin Franklin: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." It was just easier to go to bed before electric lights and computers, TV...! Good luck - I hope he feels better.

I was a sick kid like that and when I was a teenager an allergist finally tested me for all kinds of things. They found out I was missing a part of my immune system (IgG) called hypogammaglobulinemia. It may be worth a simple blood test to check that. I had to take a monthly shot for a few years (and DID have my tonsils out around that time), but I am MUCH healthier now.

I had my tonsils out as a kid and did get sick much less often after that. I agree that it is a last resort though. My son hardly ever gets sick, even in daycare and he has his tonsils intact.

The cause could be many things, or a combination of things. Have you tried probiotics? Or food elimination diets to find allergies or even sensitivities? (search on Feingold diet to get started or the yahoo group foodlabs) Things like dairy, soy, certain dyes can be stressing his system. Take these out and his body doesn't need to spend energy combatting them so has more energy to combat what he is exposed to at school. Is he in a stressful environment - is he around arguing, or does he argue with his parents, siblings, does he worry about something? Does he get enough sleep? Will an air filter help, or dust mite preventative bedsheets...

What allergies, issues do other family members have? These may be clues to what areas he needs to watch out for. I would also go to a Naturopath who is a doctor that specializes in nutrition to address illnesses. A good one can work wonders.

Good luck & let us know what happens!

Our daughter had her adenoids removed and it helped..
We also purchased an electric air filter for her room. Their is a tremendous amount of Molds and Pollen in Austin (then in the summer dust). I had to change the filter every 3 weeks during peak season and every 6 weeks on off season, even though the manufacture said 6 to 8 weeks would be fine..

This helped so much, It was amazing.. Helped clear up lots of her asthma problems also..

What kind of sick? Is he running a fever each time? Or just drippy, stuffy, sneezy, watery eyes kind of sick...?

If there typically is no fever and is mostly sinus drainage and drippy nose... maybe it isn't a cold, but allergies. My son starting sneezing a LOT when he started K4. His teacher asked me if he was allergic to something in her classroom... but he sneezed at home too. It just sort of kicked in around that age. But he didn't start getting sinus drainage stuff until later... it was a gradual progression, until eventually it seemed practically year round. It got where I couldn't tell if he was coming down with something or just having sinus issues AGAIN. Finally took him a few months ago and had bloodwork done to see what he is allergic to (we had thought it was priced out of our ability to do this before now).. He is allergic to 12 different things in the environment, that occur pretty much spaced out throughout the year... so it doesn't just SEEM like he is drippy all the time... he IS. So we just started allergy injections (immunotherapy). With the insurance it is really reasonable pricewise. Considering what we are already spending on tissues and OTC allergy meds! Plus his quality of life should drastically improve when he starts getting some relief from this.

Maybe your son has some emerging allergies as well. Might be worth checking out...

I think nutrition and immunity builders are the way to go. This is what I do for a living. I have a small natural nutrition business. All vitamins are not created equal. Contact me if you would like some recommendations.

Snoring is nature's way of telling you he has sleep apnea problems all the time. Sleep apnea=poor sleep=depressed immune system responses=sick alot. Allergies are one reason he may have frequent illness and swollen tonsils. Removal of his tonsils will help the snoring/sleep apnea thing and allergy testing will rule out why they were swollen to begin with.

Sleep apnea(and snoring) is a reason all by itself to remove tonsils and adenoids. Both my children had this and my son was sick quite a bit. Both of my children are healthier now and I think some of that is due to better quality of sleep. My kids were ages 2 and 3 at the time of surgery and my daughter was so bad she had surgery the same week as her ENT visit! Please listen to your ENT if they recommend surgery. My 2 year old had to stay overnight after the surgery but my 3 year old was operated at a same day surgery center. Both had no complications whatsoever.

My son is 6.5 now, when he was 5 he had to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. He snored very loudly, sometimes even while awake! ENT said his adenoids were so enlarged, they were blocking his nasal cavity. And, his tonsils were to the point of touching each other. He used to throw up because of 'gag reflex', not because he was sick like i initially thought. Once he had both removed, i had a brand new boy! He did & still does get ear infections, but he also was recently diagnosed as having Cat allergies. So we had to rehome our cat and start my son on Zyrtec to clear up the nasal stuffiness, which we think was contributing to his ear infections. So, if after his surgery, he still has some issues, maybe get him allergy tested. But the surgey itself will show you a 100% improvement in his snoring! I hated knowing my son had apnea & the poor baby simply could'nt breathe at night. The surgery itself took very little time, and recovery is fast. You'll be happy with the end results, and so will your son. Best of luck!!!

My son recently had his tonsils and ads out (end of April). I have noticed a large improvement in his sleep habits and thus a much happier little boy. I will warn you though... it isn't always as easy of a surgery as people say. The pain is very intense for a little one and they don't understand the consequences of not doing exactly what the doctor says. My son was told to eat and drink anything he wanted for 2 weeks. We took him to the grocery store and let him pick out all his favorites. He didn't have to eat any of the other things that I cooked for dinner if he didn't want to,. We still struggled terribly with getting him to eat and drink. That resulted in a hospital visit for dehydration and pain management. It was a scary and difficult time. I wished that someone would have let me know that not all recoveries are quick and easy. And now, after scaring you (I am really sorry if I did), I will say he is doing fine now with no lasting complications. He will even say he is glad they are gone because he doesn't snore anymore. Given the option, I would do it again. I would just be more prepared.

My son had large tonsils, didn't eat well because he couldn't swallow food - and snored...... Had his tonsils out -stopped snoring, started sleeping better - his test scores shot up dramatically. Have the tonsils removed - you won't regret it! (He was 9 when they were removed)