Boosting Immune System - Phoenix,AZ

Vitamin D3 (we also buy the children's gummies at Target).
Multivitamin
Plenty of sleep
Lots of handwashing - especially before eating or after being out in public.
My son also takes Echinecea/vitamin C if he is starting to get the signs of being sick.
Healthy diet with lots of fruits/vegies/wholegrains, limit sweets and processed food, limit artificial dyes.
Massage also helps stimulate the immune system and flush toxins.
Plenty of water, limited juice and soda

Age 3 is tough because they are getting exposed to a lot but usually don't have much immunity yet.

I would suggest giving D3 vitamin. Make sure it's D3 and not just a D vitamin. Target has some great gummy ones. Give 1000 IU in the fall/winter and 500 IU in the spring summer. Probotics is another great thing to use. You can get powder form to mix up in juice. And of course give a great multivitamin daily.
I also like to give some Elderberry liquid whenever they are out and about in a crowded area.
And of course keep a great supply of those hand antibacterial wipes in your car and purse!
C.

My almost 5 year old is rarely sick (thank goodness)... as a family, we are rarely sick. She has never been in daycare, however she did 2 years of pre-school and is in pre-K. She has somehow managed to stay healthy. We eat a vegetarian diet (she doesn't like veggies much though...yet...lol), but she eats a lot of fruit/ vitamin C. Our family "secret" that we swear by is Kombucha tea (an immune boosting green tea).... found at whole foods and I have also seen it at Meijer (which I'm not sure you have in AZ). The kind we get I believe is made by Yogi, and it is a tea bag, for hot tea. My daughter actually prefers it cold instead of hot (unless I let her drink it with her little play tea set). It is a good tasting tea. I have had Kombucha in other forms (cold drinks, etc), and have found it yucky... but the hot tea is yummy, and also tastes very good if you brew it than just let it cool. Good luck :-)

Hi, my now 30 month old also had a constant runny nose, ear infections (for which she now has tubes), and cough. The doctor found that she was not producing antibodies for hemophelous (sp?) influenza (I believe that is associated with the hib vaccine). Doctor gave her a couple of extra doses, I took her to a immunologist, and they found that after the doses her levels had improved. Shortly after that, we started her on Juice Plus (recommended by Dr. Sears) supplements. Both daughters have been on those for about a year now, and have not been sick since. I take them as well, and swear by them.

Elderberry extract http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-69596-NATURES-Sambucus/...
Probiotics http://www.amazon.com/Udos-Choice-Infants-Probiotic-2-64-...
Dr. Sears Omega 3 Vitamins http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Sears-Omega-3-Strawberry-60-Coun...
And this book....http://www.amazon.com/Superimmunity-Kids-Children-Healthy...

Elderberry, probiotics and more probiotics, especially in food form with NO sugar added. And eat foods only your greatgrandmother would have recognized as food. Breakfast cereals, fruit rollups and the like are not nourishing.

Vitamin D 3 ...much more than what is in standard vitamins. (Regular recommendations are way too low...Canada is ahead of us on this one...lokk to their raised recommendations.) Vit d 3 can come in liqid ofrm too...or in capsules. Or get good sun exposure in the later morning/early afternoon hours.
Good luck

My family takes a liquid supplement called Body Balance. It's totally organic and has all the vitamins and minerals a growing child needs. My grandson loves the taste of the liquid. We say "Cheers" every morning when we down our shot. Last year he was constantly sick, but now he's staying well when the other kids are sick, and that helps me as a grandmother. Whenever he got sick, I got sick. Whether you try this supplement or not, your child doesn't get the nutrients they need from the foods we eat these days. The vitamins drug stores and grocery stores are not organic and therefore most of it goes down the toilet. Literally. Our soils are stripped of the essential minerals, and full of pesticides and poisons we don't even know about until they start affecting our health. If you want more information about Body Balance, you can go to this website: www.lifeforce.net and check out the ingredients. If you decide to order, I would love for you to order under my ID# which is 185473, V. Halphen. LifeForce is a great networking opportunity for mothers to be able to work from home, keep your kids well and make money doing it. Even if you don't go this route I would still strongly recommend going to the health food store near you and ask them to help you. Hope this information helps.

Have you or did anyone suggest a "raw" diet? Dairy foods have been proven to increase mucous production. We eat mostly organic fruits and veggies, I personally am mostly vegan now, and I have noticed a huge difference in the sick time me and my boyfriend have. Good luck, Hope your little baby feels better! : )

Vitamin C is good. I buy the adult 500mg chewables and cut them in 1/2. plus they get a multi vitamin.

Chiropractic care, my kids have gone since birth. Helps reduced frequency and severity of every ailment we have...flu, colds, allergies, etc. Also probiotics, vitamins, and let them be exposed to naturally occurring allergens, dirt, bacteria sometimes (no hand sanitizer every day, don't obsessively clean the house, etc)!

When I started kindergarten (I'd been home the whole time before then) it seemed like 2 years of constantly getting everything that came around. I can remember barfing all the way to the nurses office on several occasions. But about the middle of 2nd grade everything seemed to settle down and illnesses became a lot less frequent.
My son started day care at 3 months old, and he seemed to come down with everything. Hand foot mouth (I'd never had that one before so when he got it so did I), colds, you name it, he had it. But around when he turned 3 or 3 1/2 things settled down with him.
Just my personal theory, but it seems like it takes a few years when more public exposure starts and once those few years are done, the immune system seems to work a whole lot more efficiently.

In addition to the great recommendations below, eat dark purpled fruits like grapes and berries daily: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, cranberries. Also drink 100% grape juice. One small cup a day, like a glass of wine.

All the vitamin supplements in world are never as good as wholesome, fresh nutrition.

vitamin C and D.

I agree with all the advice, but also urge you to make sure when she does get medication make sure you use all of it up. Too many people get in the rut of only using 1/2 the meds and they wonder why they get sick again. Keep with all the good healthy food, stay away from processed (too many reasons to count here), and don't shelter her too much....but make sure you are washing hands and all that....