My Baby Has ANOTHER Cold!

My 2 1/2 yr old just started daycare 2 days a week, and since then he and my other son (13 mos.) have had colds constantly. I feel like all I do is wipe runny noses. My doctor said that when he comes home from school, immediately change his clothes and wash his hands, follow ed with a little hand sanitizer. I also started giving him a immunity boosting supplement for kids on days he goes to school. This seems to have helped. They still get sick, but not as bad or for as long.

Hi,

I have no idea if we've just been lucky or the combination of things we do have kept him healthy, but our son is 15 months and only got his first cold at 14 months for only 3 days. So I'll just share what we do.

We only eat local organic meat/produce/dairy and no processed foods. We drink raw milk. My son has never eaten anything processed or synthetic and I cook from scratch.

We breastfeed and plan to continue to 2-3 years or until I'm pregnant again.

He gets a tablespoon of raw organic coconut oil daily. (HUGE immune booster and great for teeth and bowels and everything else)

We go outside for at least 3 hours a day rain or shine or snow or heat.

He has plain yogurt daily for probiotics.

We don't vaccinate or give him any kinds of Rx or OTC drugs. We use homeopathic remedies.

That's us, but I'm not suggesting you need to mimic everything. I will stress the coconut oil. I think it does wonders. I take 3 tsp 3 times a day and cook with it. Just something to try.

Once you start at play groups and being with others - like preschool or babysitters - your child will get everything. This is normal. Other kids sneeze, cough... and touch things with their dirty hands. Make sure if you are at a playgroup - that the toys are being washed good. Wash your baby hands frequently - and know that this is all part of growing up with others around. Wait until preschool - they get everything and I mean everything. My kids were sick a lot.. but once they got to kindergarten... they stopped getting sick. Maybe once a year now. So it will get better.

My daughter, now 7, would get a cold and a cough every fall that would last until Christmas every year since she was little.

She would cough so much that it would make her choke and sometimes spit up etc... It was worse at night. Dr. said that it was allergies and told me to give her what ever medicine was suitable for her age.... I did, but every december she would end up with an ear infection and would be given antibiotics and be cured for the rest of the season. So because she was cured by antibiotics I thought it was not allergies...

I went to a naturopath and found out that she was allergic to leaf mold. She would start sniffling and coughing when the leaves started to fall and usually by Christmas the leaves were frozen or under snow and the symptoms would subside. (the ear infection was caused by the post nasal drip...)

It all made sense once I knew what she was allergic to. The naturopath would give me some drops, specific to what she was allergic to, to boost her imune system. And once she was old enough, her md perscribed singular. The natural remedy combined with the perscription have helped her so much.

Just explore all the resources available to you. Good luck.

Try using an infant probiotic to help boost his immune system. Or...it just came to me...maybe it's allergies??? I know my throat has been killing me for about a month now...just allergies...I get it every fall. When I don't take care of the symptons of the allergies it can develop into bronchitis or even pneumonia. Since there are no other symptoms that may be the cause - for both of you. Have you tried an OTC with an antihistamine? Maybe try one first yourself to see if it relieves your symptons and then try it on him if it works for you.

Good luck! I know how frustrating it can be when they don't feel well!

Hi H.,

Your probably already doing this, but here are my suggestions.

After a play date/play group, immediately wash his hands with a wipe or soap and water. (I keep wipes in the car). Also, do you use a shopping cart cover? This helps protect from other babies germs. The same idea goes for those public high chairs.

Also, if your the one hosting the play group, make sure to disinfect any toys that other children may have put in their mouths.

And one more thing, when taking your little guy for his holiday photo, watch those props. When my daughter was about 18 mos. old, they used a fake glass of milk and cookie in her Christmas picture. Well would'nt you know, she just had to pick up the cookie and stick it in her mouth before I could get to her. She got quite a cold after that. Try to bring your child's favorite stuffed toy as your prop.

Best wishes!

R. : )

Hi H.,
It's actually good that he's picking up these colds, believe it or not. They strengthen his immune system for the long run. My son is 16.5 months old and is in playgroups and classes, and as much as I'd like to keep him home and away from the germs, it's actually better for him to pick them up. BUT, I do know that it's frustrating! Just try to keep those little hands clean, as well as yours! That's the # 1 way to fight off germs!
Hope this helps,
Lynsey
PS- teething will cause the same symptoms, so it could be a combination of the teeth and a cold?

My son used to be the same way. And my older two weren't. He is now three and still getting colds frequently. So this week, we have a new pediatrician, I took him to the docs and said, "What is the problem? Why does this happen to him all the time?" She said, "Let's check his blood for a certain # (the word started with immuno...maybe immunoglobins?). Some kids just have a lower number. We can give them the pneumococcal vaccine and we'll see a huge difference in the amount of sinus related infections." Now, I don't know how you are with vaccinations. Some moms avoid them like the plague, some do minimal, some don't care. So, ask your pediatrician. My old doc never mentioned it and now I"m encouraged there is a reason and that it can be helped.

Try probiotics for kids- introducing the powder into organic yogurt or applesauce or bottle or sippycup if used. Add to it some 1/2 tsp. cod liver oil to strengthen the child's developing immune system.

Hi H.,

My kids are asthmatic, so we do our best to avoid as many colds as we can. Perhaps the best thing our doctors recommended (aside from religious hand washing on everyone's part) is to irrigate their noses with pure saline in the morning and evening (make sure it's pure saline, with no other drugs or active complexes mixed in). Not only does it moisten the passages, but it flushes out a lot of irritants, viruses, etc, and thins secretions when they are sick. It's really easy, and they don't seem to mind, especially if you make a game of it or let them shoot a little in the air; you can do it as often as you feel it's necessary (when they're sick, I try to do it 3-4 times a day).
Good luck.

Hi H.,
Especially because you are a SAHM I recommend that you get all the toxins out of your home. Toxins can lower your immune system and they are everywhere (in cosmetics and especially in household cleaning products). Instead use natural products like citrus solvents or vinegar. If you would like to discuss this further, give me a call: ###-###-####.
L.

Dear H.,

Are you sure it's not allergies? I have so many kids at my childcare center with terrible coughs, clear runny noses and have been to the doctor many time with no diagnosis except allergies. If he has a clear runny nose and a cough it could just be allergies. I would just run a humidifier in the room maybe try some saline drops to keep the mucus thin and maybe ask your doctor if it could be allergies. Unfortunately he is probably to young for any medicine but maybe the doctor can advise you on how to keep him comfortable.