Could This Simply Be a Cold or Be More Serious?

I will start by saying you probably aren't going to like my answer! But as both a doctor, and a mom who had a child with symptoms like yours, I can tell you: (the problem 99% of the time is having your child in daycare.) My daughter was 2 when my son was born. Although we had a nanny, we put my daughter in daycare because we thought she would benefit from the socialization, and also to give the nanny and ourselves (when we weren't working!) time to focus on the new baby. The problem was, the infant was less work than my 2 year old, who was always sick!

The pediatrician explained to me that daycare parents often use preschool as a baby sitter, whether their children are sick or well, because they have to go to work. As a result, the sick kids constantly spread germs to the others. The doctor suggested that we try taking her out of school for a few WEEKS and see what happened. Sure enough, the illnesses went away. It was of course an inconvenience, and for many working parents it seems as if there are no other options....but this is your child's health, which has to take priority. You've seen yourself how the illness delayed your son's speech. As parents, it is our responsibility to protect our kids, even from little viruses!! Is there someone else...a grandparent, perhaps....who can help you? Or can you and your husband arrange your work schedules somehow so that one of you is always home? (that's what my parents did). In that case, you can even pay a teen a few bucks to help you at home so you can get some sleep or run an errand. If you can afford it, there are a few agencies through which you can hire a qualified nanny....I can give you some names if you wish. Maybe you have a friend with children also who can swap babysitting with you....you watch her kids on weekends or at night while she watches yours during the day. My point is, if you brainstorm for ideas you can come up with another plan....you need to do this for your child's sake.

3 more points: 1) this arrangement does not have to be permanent! (another idea: take a short leave from work, if possible?) We kept my dd out of daycare for awhile and then found a real "preschool" that only met for 2 hours, 2 or 3 mornings a week. It gave my daughter the socialization I thought she needed, and got her away from the baby and in with kids her own age, for a limited period of time. Parents would not send their kids to school sick, since most of them were stay at home moms, and besides, the school was very strict about that. It proved to be a great solution for us! Point 2) medically speaking, it may be something more serious...actually could be sinus problems, which are very common in FL....but the only way to find out is to eliminate the obvious cause first! and lastly....

I want to put in a word in support of stay at home moms. I worked more than full time until my youngest was in kindergarten (I know, i did it backwards!) Then a disability put me out of work. I have to say that being home with my kids has been a blessing! NO ONE can raise your kids better than you can! I thought the nanny was doing a better job than i could ever do...which may be true in some respects, but what my kids really needed was a MOM. And my husband needed a wife, also. If you ever listen to Dr. Laura, she has a lot to say on this topic; in fact she has written a book on it. There are things you give your kids, (and they give you too!) that cannot even be described or given a dollar value. I don't know what your situation is.....maybe you are at home, which is great. I'm just saying it might be a good time to re-assess your priorities now that you are parents.....especially with a sick child. And i certainly don't mean to sound judgmental, as I was there myself....I would simply like to share with you my experience, strength and hope. I truly pray that you came up with a good solution!!! Please write me anytime.

1 mom found this helpful

just curious... is he still taking medication for GERD?
If not, it could possibly be causing his coughing. Not sure about the congestion part... but make sure that his current doctor knows about his GERD diagnosis and ask specifically about the coughing as it relates to the GERD.

1 mom found this helpful

Your son more than likely does not have Cystic Fibrosis. Both parents have to be carriers for the child to be born with the disease. And you would have know by 6months if he had it.

My first born was almost lost to CF (that i gave in adoption) when he was 2wks old. After multiple surgeries two to remove sections of bowel (they thought it might be Chrons disease) they were testing for everything under the sun - until they finally did genetic testing. The has to do physical therapy every time he does strenuous activity like playing. And everytime he eats or drinks something he has to take an artificial enzyme to digest the food for him since his body is unable to produce it.

it sounds like asthma to me. a nebulizer would then show the condition improve like it did in the dr's office. I wish you luck in find the answer but - rest assured he does not have CF.

A lot of it is living in Michigan. I was born there and didn't move to Florida until I was in my late forties. I didn't go to day care and always had ear infections and tonsillitis until I left the state. I would get tonsillitis every 3 months even through my adult years. I always had sinus problems with gagging, headaches, etc. It all stopped when I moved to Florida 15 years ago. My daughters and grandchildren still live in Michigan and are not effected. They did go to day care. They had some problems ages 1-5 and then they got over it. I think mine was allergies and pollution. When I went up north during the summer, I had no problems. Good luck.

Hi J.,
If he was never at daycare and started getting sick after he started, that could be it. When I put my daughter in pre-k she was sick all the time. I was at the Dr. every week for throat infections, sinus infections, colds, ear infections, you name it. This lasted for about a year, I guess thats when she started building her immunity to all the germs in school. She still catches colds here and there, but not like before.
Also, I am originally from NY and my family moved down here to Miami when I was about 3, according to my mom, I was never sick until we moved here. She said as soon as we came down, me and my sister where constantly sick with throat infections and colds, so maybe it could have something to do with the climate?? Its hotter and more humid so maybe germs and viruses thrive in this environment..
hope that helps.
B.

Hi there,
So sorry that you have to go through all this, first of all. I can only tell you that we had many of the same symptoms when my son was his age. He was born here, and he suffered with URI and Sinusitus quite a bit = tubes in the ears. We also had him go through some allergy testing, and he proved positive that he was allergic to molds, pollens, cats and cigarrette smoke. He had never been around cigarrette smoke nor cats, but obviously you cannot get away from the molds and pollens living in FL. He is 15 now and has mostly gronw out of it. Sometimes, he will get congested, and we keep Allegra D on-hand for times like that. Keep up the great mom work!

J. b. hi, my name is T., and i have one two and a half year old son. my son has gone through most of the same things your son is. and first, i would personally myself, maybe try son other pediaritians, and see what they think is wrong. but, if this sickness pretty much started when you moved down here, it could very well be what you suspect the problem to be. as a parent i am sure you know how to observe to figure out what the problem probably is. this state is very humid most of the time; but on the other hand, how long has your son been in childcare? if its just as long as youve lived here, that would be my first guess, not the state of florida,/ allergies. my son stayed sick the whole time i tried childcare with him. he would catch, and recatch every illness going around until, i took him out, (for fear, he would get a cronic problem;) and yes, he had a lot of ear infections, with that. if you have to have childcare, and now whay you can keep him at home, then maybe you could talk to someone at the day care about cleaning the place better or some thing! (maybe even volunteer to help clean it yourself.) i peronally, have been unemployed since two marches ago, and without an income its tough, but my son is with me, and not sick, in daycare. i would be fearing, if i were you, that if you dont get him away from there, you might end up, haveing to have those tubes put in him! sorry, i hope i have helped you though. this is really hard, i know, but i hope things work out for your son,and you. God bless!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to chime in and say to get his GERD checked out again. Check to see if that has returned/worsened. Also get his tonsils and adenoids checked. When my son gets sick and his tonsils are swollen, he snores when sleeping and coughs. If he was snoring and had a tough time breathing while sleeping, he would sweat as well. Just a thought.

If it were me I would pull my child out of day-care/school and attempt to address the various health issues. It was easier for me to do this when I could observe my child most of the day (had a sickly one too).

I know this is MUCH easier said than done.

My child was very susceptible to stress - I am too - seems like stress weakens our immune system.

Good luck.

call 1-800-360-0988 ultimate living and ask for some kids vitamins and i bet your problem will be solved and kid will be so healthy.i have a grandson who was at the drs sometimes twice a week with cold like symptoms and i heard about these vitamins and got some for him and he hasnt been to a dr since.works miracles but this is good stuff take one in morning and one at nite faithful and have a healthy kid and im not kidding.you will be blessed C. and you will be glad you did.let me know if you do and the outcome.

my son went through the same thing when he first started day care and you are right! doctors will dismiss it very quickly when you mention daycare! my son had to be put on 3 different antibiotics to kick the last ear infection he had but after a good 7-8 months of being in daycare, he started clearing up and is as healthy as ever now. the thing is when they start daycare, the little ones are exposed to all sorts of new things. other kids that may be sick for example. it just takes time to build immunity to all the new things he's being exposed to.

Hi J.-

I had a very similar problem with my 2 year old. We have lived in Florida his whole life so I knew it wasn't an environment change. He is in day care also.

He started with a dry cough that gradually built into a "cold". When he spiked a fever, we took him to the ped. and he was prescribed antibiotics for an ear infection. It went away but the cough and runny nose did not. About 10 days later, the fever returned and he had another ear infection. We went thru this about 3 times-each time with a different antibiotic. His ear infections were clearing up so my ped did not recommend tubes.

Finally after about 2 months of this back and forth, we took him in and I asked if they would treat the cough. They gave us a z-pack. He has never been prescribed a z-pack for ear infections (he's had about 10 in the first 2 years). Within 5 days of that appointment, the cough was gone and no ear infections since. I truly believe that he had a chest infection that was causing his sinuses to fill up. They didn't drain properly and that was causing his ear infections, but until we treated the root cause, they kept coming back.

This all occurred back in February and he has not had so much as a cold since we finished that z-pack. I didn't realize that different antibiotics treated specific types of infections. Also, they listened to his lungs several times during these ear infection appts and said they were fine, but again, the cough never went away until we had that last antibiotic. I'm not sure if your situation is the same, but it might be worth a try. My ped resists prescribing antibiotics for anything other than an ear infection because they can see it and be completely sure that an infection exists. I just kept pushing and for my son's sake, I'm glad I did!
Good luck!

Hi J.,

The sweating during naps and the snoring sound completely normal. My son does the same exact thing.

Everybody will tell you that when kids are in daycare, they constantly get sick. A few questions to ask yourself: are the other kids sick too? If they were all getting sick a lot then I might switch daycares. Maybe it's something there. If it's mostly just your child, I would get him tested for allergies. That might be contributing to the problem.
Another question: is everybody else in your house pretty healthy? We do have some mold problems here in Florida and that can make you sick a lot too. I know you said your other child doesn't get sick like this. Do they have separate bedrooms?

I would try to rule out all the environmental factors first, then look into getting your son into a specialist to find out why he keeps getting sick.

Good luck!

Part of it is likely emotional stress from the changes and adjustments he's been dealing with - that weakens one's energy field and can foster immune imbalance and allergies. See if you can identify and reduce allergens while also helping your child feel safe and nurtured - some massage and reiki for your baby could help. When we feel relaxed and peaceful we naturally breath deeper and get more oxygen.
-JS
www.phinsights.com

mold is definately a possibility in FL. Also dairy foods can make a child mucousy. My daughter eats almost no dairy because of that, but if we start letting her eat more cheese, within a couple weeks she gets all mucousy, sometimes even with a cough. then she gets more allergic to the AC, even if I recently changed the fliter. Maybe with your symptoms you might find a well recommended acupuncturist? They can often help when your MD can't.

You may want to explore possible allergies. He may be sensitive to something pollenating at certain times of the year. I grew up here and didn't realize I was allergic to malleleuca until I moved away for a few years. on the other hand, we had the reverse situation w/my son. We went on vacation to visit family in the mid-west while they were harvesting soybeans and he was nearly hospitalized. It triggered major congestion and a severe asthmatic reaction. Go figure.

I wouldn't be overtly concerned as all kids DO get quite sick their first year or so in daycare no matter WHAT age they are.

:) C.

J.

The only thing that comes to mind is food allergies. You can keep a diary of what he eats and his symptoms. He might have problems with dairy foods or others. I know dairy can cause a lot of congestion. Also it could very well be mold or just the Florida area. I know for me when I moved here my sinus problems got worse and I know a lot of people who have had sinus problems agravated when they also moved here.

Good luck and don't give up if you think he might have something else you owe it to your son to find out what it is. No matter what doctors say.

M. S

My son is in daycare and gets sick alot. His dr says generally kids gets 12-15 colds a year when they are this age. My son is now 3.5 years old and the colds have stopped being so frequent. We just really emphasized handwashing and nothing but foods/drinks in his mouth. Also, watch the daycare really closely and check to see if they sanitize frequently. It's hard. I was still paying weekly and my hold daycare and he was missing atleast one week a month. Every month!

Hi:
here in florida the allergies are really high here. Have you tried childrens benadryl. Sure not spelled right. Has the dr.tried him or her on acid reflux meds. There is all kinds of pollens here. Also how old is the carpet in your home, it could be full of lots of things. Could be that he is allergic to pets, dust. Go to web md and check it out with a list of his symptoms? Sometimes they can give you answers as what to do or how to treat it. So sorry your child is so sick. Take care hope they get better soon.

You described my son exactly- daycare, ear infections, not talking, GERD as a baby, sinus infections for 6 months on end. My ped Dr Tappan at Pediatric Healthcare Alliance never blew me off and was fantastic. We did have the CF test and every other test known to man. CF kids are usually very small for their age and luckily he was negative.

After two years of hell my son is finally healthy. He's had tubes twice and takes Nasonex, Zyrtec, and Sigular daily. I try to wean him from the meds but then he gets congested again and we are back to breathing treatments. I had no idea allergies can make someone so sick but now I do believe that is what triggered my son's sickness. I am not sure where you live but I have great Dr's in Brandon/Riverview area. Good luck and hang in there. Working FT is hard enough let alone having to deal withj all this sickness.

PS. He also went to speech therapy for a year.

J.,
Girl... I got this one. I typically don't respond because there are so many great moms on this board that do a great job with advice.
1. Yes, your baby is expected to be sick often when starting daycare. Aside from that, there are certainly other factors. Of course, I'm only speaking from my personal experience.... Moving to a different climate takes lots of adjusting; new germs, new allergies, humidity, etc....
2. You did the right thing by demanding him being seen by ENT and getting tubes in his ears. Poor baby, he shouldn't have had to go through that many ear infections before something was done. The snoring could mean that he may need his adeniods removed. This would also help him to not be sick so often. Discuss this with the ENT. It's a minor procedure.
3. Since he gets sick so easily, try your darndest to get him on the list for the H1N1 vaccination. This flu attaches in the lungs, which would be a double wammy for your wee one. Your pediatrician should have this in October. And if your son has not had PNEUMOVAX vaccination, he needs it. It's for pneumonia. The doctor can send your son for blood test to check his immune system but drawing blood is torchure. Just better to get the shots and be done with it.
4. I would also highly suggest going to see an allergist!!! I don't know what age they can do skin allergy testing but it's supposed to be more reliable than the blood test. It doesn't hurt, just itches until the testing period is over.
Then, if he does have allergies (mold and mildew is high right now, and dust mites is always popular), it's time to figure out which allergy med works for your child. My son tried several and is also taking allergy shots. My son is 5. Some allergy meds are just temporary and have side affects, like Benadryl. The longer lasting is what he would need, like: Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, etc... these are to be taken daily. My son also has a nose spray as well(Nasonex).
6. Make sure you have good air filter in your a/c. Reduce dust and animal dandur, absolutely no cigarrette smoke..... This should help him feel better and breathe a little easier.

Hope this helps!! Good luck with getting your son feeling better.

~ D.

Hi J.,

If you are not happy with your pediatrician, then you must find another one. As for cystic fibrosis, this is a serious disease that is a genetic disorder. Do you or someone in the family or your husband's family have this disease? I would suggest you do an internet search for the disease so you know what it is. Your child would have development issues, and he would have been screened for it when he was born, as there are "signs" of it at birth.

A child, or anyone for that matter, can have a deep sounding cough but have "clear" lungs. He could have bronchitis...a viral infection that goes away by itself. Antibiotics do NOT cure viruses as they must run their course and go away in time. Bronchitis can last weeks, if not months and he could have that virus. Only a doctor can tell for sure by listening to his lungs.

As for daycare, well, most doctors and other parents know that daycare centers are breeding grounds for illnesses. If it's absolutely necessary to put your son in daycare, then you can count on him being sick more often and have more serious illnesses last longer than a child in a private home environment. Could your child have allergies? Well, allergies are also genetic, so you or your husband (or someone else in the family) would have to have allergies. I recently went for an allergy test for myself because I do have allergies and found that my youngest son is allergic to strawberries because of me. How did we find out? My son always breaks out around his mouth whenever he eats strawberries and the allergy test indicated that I have an allergy to strawberries, although I have never experienced any outward sign of a reaction. The doctor told me that allergies are inherited.

I would start with finding another pediatrician rather than jumping to conclusions. It very well may be that your son is constantly sick due to him being in daycare. A second opinion from a qualified doctor is always better than self diagnosing a problem on your own. A lady at my church has a son in daycare and this child is constantly sick. I honestly cannot recall a time that she's brought him to church healthy. Is it normal to be sick all the time you ask? No, of course it's not "normal" to be sick that often but you must consider the environment he is exposed to on a daily basis. I'm sure he isn't the only child in the facility who is sick and you can bet that the center is not practicing rigid cleaning either. Viruses are highly contagious...all it takes is one infected child to play with a toy and your son comes along and puts that toy in his mouth and there you have a new illness to deal with.

Many children, and adults sweat in their sleep. Sleep sweating is not necessarily an indicator for anything serious. I hope this has helped you. I hope you are able to find another ped to express your concerns with.

Also, PLEASE research the swine flu vaccine BEFORE signing up for it. I found this article and will post it in hopes that other moms can read it and make an informed decision before taking the vaccine. You might have to copy/paste the address into your browser, but please read the article.

Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of doctors over 25 deaths in America

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

Full Story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206807/Swine-flu...

16 August 2009
www.dailymail.co.uk

Nasal mucus can cause post nasal drip which leads to coughing. Have you had him tested for allergies enviornmental and food? Good luck

A good test for alergies, without going to the dr., would be to give him claratin for children. When my son starts caughing I usually try that first and after about 2 or 3 days he is back to normal.

You may also want to check in with the ENT to check his adnoids and toncils. If they are enlarged they may cause problem and be proned to infection. My son, after one set of tubes, had to have another and they removed his adnoids as well because they were enlarged. He hasn't been sick since - knock on wood!

the tubes should have fixed all this, which sounds like post-nasal drip (my friend's son had the same thing).

If the tubes have not improved things, def. see the ENT or find another one, maybe one that specializes in pediatrics.

If you want to know what is really going on go to Dr. Bruce West- Health Alert- he will explain what happeneded and what to do now. k

are his adenoids too big? Your pediatrician or ENT could tell. This often causes snoring and many times comes together with tonsillitis.

Hi J. - I am originally from England, I got pretty bad colds before. But I have lived in south GA now for a total of 12 years (ish). I had a horrible time adjusting to AC when I first moved to FL. My nose would get conjested and crack/bleed on the inside. Then we moved to GA and after about 2 years of my symptoms getting more severe I could not stand it anymore. I had to start on prescription allergy meds. This is THE worse area to live in for allergies. My oldest daughter gets it too but I had her tested and nothing showed up on her skin tests. She still gets symptoms though. I agree with Victoria, the GERD could be causing the coughing. As for the ears, my son had lots of ear infections too when he was around 2-4. He eventually grew out of it.

Don't overdo the antibiotics, he can become immune to them -not good. I wish I had a magic answer but you are not alone in this.

Good luck
M. F

We never had any sinus problems until we moved to Florida from Michigan. As long as we were traveling back to Michigan every year when school got out there weren't any problems. But the first summer we actually had to stay here we all had problems. My youngest one was on allergy meds until two days ago. The doctor is giving it a try without them. It's Florida living and you might as well get used to the sinus problems and allergies or move back to Michigan.
As far as the day cares go children do tend to get sick more when going so that is why doctors don't pay as close attention to an illness as children that stay at home. It would be better if you could hire a private sitter. Actually you will find a private sitter is usually less money and better care than any day care you can put your child in. Where you from in Michigan????

My son had issues when he was 1 or 2, and I would constantly ask the doctor about the way he was breathing. He didn't want to label him having asthma so he just ignored it and told me he would be fine. So I searched for alternatives. He then had a winter when he was sick. Everytime he started to get better, he got another cold. I took him to a chiropractor. It depends on who you go to, but the chiropractor I took him to (in Michigan!!) gave him an adjustment and then gave me a food supplement for him. He started on the food supplement and within 1-2 weeks, he got over the cold he had and didn't get sick again. He had to be on the food supplement for 1 1/2 years, but now his breathing is normal and he isn't sick all the time, only now and again like most children. He is now 9 years old and healthy because I searched for another way. I hope this helps.

J.,
I understand how frustrated you feel. We also moved here about a year ago and have noticed a few different cold symptoms with our girls. I think it's just their boies getting use to the new plants and pollens in the area. I have one daughter who has ashma. She doesn't get the wheezing and extreme difficultly breathing that most people associate with asthma . She has coughing spelling where she coughs for days with a few times where she can't catch her breath, and running nose. So it sounds like it wouldn't hurt to have him eval uated for asthma. The breathing treatments are all my daughter needs when she gets these. Our insurance covered the cost of a home nebulizer, maybe yours will to. I'm not familar with GERD so I don't know how that would play in to how he's feeling now., but maybe his cold symptoms are not as serious as you think. Also I have 2 girls that not matter where they sleep always wake up covered in sweat. May just be them???

It definitely sounds like allergies. You should take him to an allergist.

Unfortunately, at such a young age, there isn't much they can do (unless you opt for weekly shots). But for my daughter - who has severe allergies - I give her Children's Zyrtec before bed every night. It's helped a bit. When she gets a little older, we'll go for the shots.

But you should still get him checked out by an allergist.

Check your house for Chinese drywall. My friend has it and has been sick for month. Had to move out and is suing her builder. Another friend has it and his youngest son has been sick since birth because of it. Google chinese drywall to get more info and photos of what to look for in your home.

I wish I could help, but all I can offer is hope. My son was sick as you describe (minus the ear tubes and he talked at an average age). But he was sick for about SIX months straight at about 2 1/2. There would be a few days here or there when he was not. I was convinced it was his immune system or something serious. My doctor kept saying his immune system was going through a normal process of building itself up being exposed to various things in daycare, etc. I totally did not believe him. I also have two even younger children and I was at the end of my rope. Then it just stopped. Just like that. No explanation. I pray the same happens for you. He just got sick for the first time in several months -- a cold for a few days, like a normal kid.

N.

He may have a few diaphragm issues that need to be addressed where his belly has a little twist in it do to any constraint during pregnancy (in utero), delivery, or as a baby. GERD is usually a main symptom for this. I would recommend checking out Fit for Life Health Services in Naples. They are chiropractors that are focused on pregnancy and pediatrics and I have seen great results with many babies and kids in their office personally. Dr. J., Dr. Lindsay and Dr. Suzanne are all great. Also noted burn eucalyptus oil in a nettty pot to open up his sinus passeges more and make sure to stay away from any dairy products but it will build up too much mucous and cause stomach and breathing. complications.