Sinus Infection Problems

My 1 year old daughter was fighting a sinus infection for about a month before I took her to the doctor. First, she was on a ten day cycle antibiotic. She got better until a couple days after she finished the medicine. The next week the doctor put her on a 3-day antibiotic. It took a few days after she had finished the medicine, but it cleared up and she's been well ever since.

I recently had a similar problem wtih my baby - except he kept getting ear infection after ear infection, with only a few days in between. He too, was on antibiotics for over a month. My pediatrician recommended probiotics for him to replace the healthy bacteria that are supposed to be in his digestive tract so I researched it a little and discovered that without those good bacteria babies can't absorb B vitamins and many other nutrients. This weakens them and the are vulnerable to more illness. I bought some probiotics for infants from new seasons and used it immediately after he finished a round of meds and I used it for three days and he was visibly more healthy (better color, less fussy). Best of all, he hasn't been sick since! I am convinced that this should be done after every round of antibiotics. Also, I found that salt water sprayed or drip (for babies) once a day does a great job of preventing sinus infection for people who are prone to it. Bacteria can't live very well in a highly salty environment. Hope this helps - good luck! D.

Hi T.! I had really good results with my son recovering from sinus infection using SOLUMEL in a humidifier. Have you ever heard of it? It's awesome! Very soothing and healing to the sinus cavities. If you'd like more info, call me at
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:>) J.

Hi I am a 56 year old mom of course my children are all grown up and kids of their own. I had a little girl who had the problem. You need to flush out the sinus cavities. Use a saline. It comes in the health stores. Any one worth their salt will be able to help you. Also ask your medical doctor how she or he feels about you using a natural anti-botic for awhile. Try this before you have any surgery. As far as deciding about allergies my daughter was diagonised when she was 18 months old. We have learned so much since then. Take care and ask and ask questions. If you don't feel good about what someone says (Doctors) Go get a second look see. Also never cross out naturalpathic ways. They work. M.

HI T.

I am not that familiar with sinus infections, but I do know that babies can have food allergies right from the start. I have had lots of experience with this.
Milk is often the culprit, strangely enough. See if you can take him off milk (you didn't say if he is on breast or bottle.) If you are still breast feeding him, eliminate milke from your diet and see if it helps.
Good luck.
P.

I have the problem as an adult -- and the reason is that I have become sensitive to airborne triggers. You might want to check to see if there is anything that your baby is reacting to; things that outgas, like new carpet, varnish, cleaning agents with ammonia, anything preserved in formaldahyde, like wall panelling or particle board. Tilex (a bathroom cleaner) is a BIG one. Insect repellents, flea bombs -- there are a ton of things out there that will promote respiratory problems. I have had two sinus surgeries in the last 15 years, and now I can't wear perfume, or body spray, and men's cologne and deodorant make me sick. I wish you luck in finding the cause of the infections.

Hi, wow, we are going thru the same things almost. I know how hard it is, dealing with a child that cant breathe. We finally took my 18 months old grandchild to see an ENT doctor. She said his adenoids were swollen, causing the problems. He had the surgery, and it lasted about 15 mins. He came back, and was playing in the bed in recovery. No problems. Very simple procedure. He was better for about 90 days. Now we are having problems with him having a stuffy nose, and the doctor said it's just a cold. He is having problems breathing at night. Hope that helps.

My youngest had stuffy and runny nose all the time and ear infections. He is allergy sensitive like me. The doctor told us to remove all of his stuffed toys and anything else that may collect dust. You don't want him to be on antibiotics too much. They can damage baby teeth. I hated that my son had to be on so much of that stuff. Even after he got tubes put in at 18 months, he still kept getting infections.

I'm going through the same thing with my 16 mo. old daughter right now. I don't want to put her on any more antibiotics. Please let me know if you find out what's wrong with your son. I'd be very curious to know. My daughter is just miserable. I know she has a sensitivity to corn, but I wonder if dairy could be the culprit too. Take care!

Hi T.,

My husband and I just took our 2 year old to the ENT yesterday. He has been off and on antibiotics for the last 1 1/2 because of sinus infections and ear infections. Our visit was great and we are opting NOT to do surgery right now. His adnoids and tonsils are a little larger, but because he has a cold right now too they can't determine anything. Our ENT told us to wait through the summer as this has been a very bad cold/flu/infection fall/winter/spring. So we are waiting it out again. We are NOT giving him any more antibiotics or OTC drugs either. Nasonex, Claritin, and Singulair were no help either and we don't want our 2 year old dependant on meds his entire life. So, ENT said if he doesn't get any better by the end of the summer then we will probably need to do the surgery. If he indeed gets worse over the next few weeks then the surgery will happen earlier than later. Also, this doc was awsome! We really liked him and he cater's to children and pediatrics. So he didn't push the surgery on us either. The other things he told us to watch are: if his breathing stops for longer than 5 seconds on a regular basis while he is sleeping, if he continues waking up at night(not getting enough sleep), if he stops eating or doesn't eat much and of course if he gets worse. Our son does stop breathing at night and snores like a 95 year old man, but he wasn't too concerned because the stopping of the breathing is only 2-3 seconds and it's not consistant. I know this may not be very helpful, but just keep your head up and know that your little guy is going to be good! I will say some prayers for you and I would love to hear what your ENT says. Good luck at the appointment. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

K.

My nephew has had MANY sinus infections over his 2.5 year life. We were aware of Milk, Egg, and Nut allergies but he was just retested and found out he's allergic to pork (ie, hot dogs if you don't buy all beef, bacon, ham, easy food for kids to eat). Since being away from pork products he hasn't needed his breathing machine. Allergy testing seems very worth it when you are trying to figure out something as frustrating a frequent sinus infections. When you figure out the right one(s) it really helps them.

Hi T.,

Our son had a lot of problems with breathing and sinuses when he was little (8 mos). We finally took him to a chiropractor and to a naturopath as he was not getting any better on antibiotics. Between the two alternative practices and some slight changes in diet, my son was better after a week or so and although he is subject to pneumonia because he was premie- he is now a healthy 13 year old who is very rarely sick anymore! I suggest you look into alternative medicine because there is a high risk of antibiotics becoming ineffective using them over a long period of time.

Good luck!
C.

My first suspicion would be diet. Make sure to tell the doctor how much dairy your sons uses. Milk is especailly known for clogging up the sinus areas if used in a bottle form and isn't able to drain down, but indeed drains into the ear and nose areas. It also ma be an allergic reaction.
Good luck.

Hi T.,

I know where you are coming from. My son had his adnoids removed when he was very young. They took them out at the same time they took his tonsils out. His adnoids were HUGE and were causing sleep apnea. We have not had any problems since. I would definatley go and see the ENT. I would also get your son on some probotics immediatley. I would also really look into other methods besides antibiotics for things like sinus infections that usually run their course. There are alot of natural remedies that work for them way better than antibiotics that only lower your immune system. Feel free to email me if you would like to chat about it more. I just got over a bout of a sinus infection that lasted about 2 1/2 weeks but it went away without antibiotics. I would be happy to share. Good Luck mama :-)

M.

Hi T.,

Our family has been riddled with sinus problems. My kids started seeing an ENT at a very early age due to multple infections. They unfortanely must have inherated bad sinus structure from me - I've had problems all my life too. They all have allergies and getting allergy shots really helped reduce the sick time.

My youngest (he's 12 now) had to have his tonsils and adnoids out at about 12 months due to infections and sleep apnea. The MD said his tonsils were the largest that he had ever seen. It helped him and he did not have as many problems as my older children (although he would still get about 3 sinus infections a year). He recently had a CT scan and does have a polyp - they don't like to do sinus surgery until they have stopped growing - or close to it so try to help alleviate infections with environmental changes and medication.

My oldest (almost 19) had sinus surgery a few months ago - he said it has been like a miracle for him. I feel bad that he had to suffer through so many infections. He lives on Zyrtec still though as he has so many allergies.

I would suggest getting allergy testing as that can contribute to infections. When the membranes are swollen from allergies, things block up and an infection can follow. It can get into a nasty cycle. Sometimes they put the child on prophylactic low dose antibiotics for several months and then add prednisone to really help reduce the inflammation.

Good luck with this - it is so hard when your kids are not feelng well.

C.

Your 14 month old isn't too young to be tested for allergies using the N.A.E.T. method. There are no needle pricks, shots or pills. Easy treatments and his nose will start draining right away. Go to www.naet.com to find one near you. Those prescription allergy pills used to change my sons personality!

Hi, a nurse told this to my husband...it works! Put clean sheets and pillow cases on their bed every day...they keep re-infecting themselves. Also...try feeding them some onions, cooked, raw, in food...what healing they have.

Hi, I just want to add to Pam's answer. If you are going to try to remove milk from your diet it should be along with all cow's products ( you need to avoid cow's proteins), butter, beef, salamis, cheese and etc. It is save to drink goat milk and there is a substitutions for everything else. My son is on antibiotics now for the same reason. I've been told to give him 1 tbs apple cider vinegar 3,4 times per day but he totally refused to drink it, so we started the antibiotics. He is 4 and he just started developing some kind of allergy this spring along with the sinus infection (stuffed nose, swollen red eyes). We are still working with our pediatrician through different options and treatments but still nowhere yet. Let me know if you get some good advices. Good luck!

My daughter had the same problem, but my doctor was pretty sure that it was from allergies and not because of adnoids. We just hung in there until she was 4 (that's the age we were told that the allergist would see her) and found out that she did have an allergy to a mold in the ground, but that she also had such a deep infection that she was put on the 20 day cycle of amoxi(unsure of spelling), instead of the 10 day cycle. She will be 7 here in a few weeks and we haven't had a problem since. She was 6mths when she went on prescription decongestant by the way.

We found out from the allergist that we could have brought her in as early as 1; however, they tend not to recommend it as allergies can change.

Also, just a side note, your child doesn't really have a "sinus infection" as they don't develop sinuses until they are 2. We were told this by 6 different doctors - 2 were allergy specialist.

We are going through this again with our son who just turned 3 and we are getting him into the allergist this month (we are not waiting until he is 4). However, our son's situation is a bit different as our family doctor moved away when he was 18mths and we are working on a 3rd family doctor (one we really, really, really like). Anyways, in our son's case, he was being treated for the wrong things which made the situation worse. We ended up taking him off all meds and with in a week he was breathing better than he has in the past year. He may have a day or 2 here and there of congestion, but nothing serious and we don't give him meds for it.

You might want to seek a 2nd opinion and see what you can find out 1st so that you can go in armed.

Hope this helps!

Hi T.

When you go to the ENT be sure to ask about gastroesophageal reflux (acid from stomach going up throat). This has been found to be a major cause of sinus problems in kids and adults, especially sinus problems that are difficult to treat/keep coming back. My 3 year old son gets asthma from reflux. The test is fairly simple - you take your kiddo to the radiology department with their favorite drink, they spike it with a tracer, the kiddo drinks it then lays on a bed watching TV while a camera takes pictures of their tummy for 50 minutes. They watch for the tracer to go back up the esophagus. My son refluxed once during this time which his asthma Doc said was too low to treat (even though a normal person would reflux exactly zero times). We consulted with a pediatric gastroenterologist and she prescribed Prevacid and his asthma episodes have decreased alot in frequency. As a bonus the Prevacid solutabs taste terrific!

Good luck and BE PERSISTENT, there are many doctors who aren't aware of the link between reflux and respiratory problems (asthma, recurrent croup, sinus problems, snotty nose, etc). I really had to push to get the test ordered by our asthma doc and then had to go to a specialist to get the medication prescribed. Also, caffeine loosens the muscle that keeps the stomach closed tight so eliminate any caffeine from your child's diet.

A naturopath can determine food allergies with a simple blood test. An MD is clueless about really getting to the route of the problem, in my experience. If he's on soy formula or milk, that can be causeing a lot of what you are describing.

My nephew had all of those similar symptoms you are describing. He was on antibiotics for almost a year!!! After he was found to be allergic to egg whites and milk (he was 2), my sister took him off of the offending items - VOILA! no more fevers, no more ear infections.

Have you had an RSV test done too? Seeing the ENT will answer a lot of your questions. Ours told us the next time our daughter got an ear infection to call him not or pcp.

Just wondering if your baby may have an allergy to dairy or wheat? You should maybe take him to a naturopath to discuss food allergens before taking him to get his adenoids out?

Hi T.,

Both my brother and I had similar issues at that age, and it was indeed allergies. We were both allergic to kapox (a type of filling sometimes used in children's stuffed toys), and pollens. I had my adenoids removed at age 3, and it helped tremendously. Going to an ENT is probably a good idea, but I'd make sure the ENT has experience with children or is a pediatric ENT, because you'll get better, more accurate care that way.

I subsequently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Selective IgA where my blood is lacking the IgA antibody. You may want to ask your pediatrician about something like this because sometimes, when a child has problems fighting off infection, they have a suppressed immune system. I don't want to scare you, as many immune deficiencies like this are easily managed. It's just something to check out, so that your child gets the best possible medical care. Hope this helps! :)

Your child is definitely not too young to be tested for allergies. My son had two reactions - one requiring an ambulance ride before he was 2. We subsequently took him to a pediatric allergy specialist, who did a skin prick test on him. Not a big deal, by the way. Not as accurate as a blood test, but my son is too young for that. Anyway, he is allergic to peanuts and eggs, dogs and cats. There are many things you can do to alleviate his symptoms, but you won't be effective until you know the cause. Many allergies can be outgrown - it won't hurt to have him tested. Good luck!

Hi T.,

I don't know about the sinus problem issue however my daughter had frequent ear infections for many years. She was constantly on antibiotics. She would just get over one bout and not long after, she would get another one. It was very frustrating. I think I hurt more than she did, the poor little thing. We took her to an ENT doctor and he recommended her tonsils be removed and the adenoids. Even after the removal of those, she continued to have infections until she was in junior high! We did have tubes put in her ears. That was a big help until they eventually came out. That is normal. They are so minute that you don't even know when they come out. We were aware of it when the infections started coming back again. They they would go in and put another set of tubes in again. Every case is different but I do know that in our particular situation, the removal of the adenoids (and the tonsils) did not help like they thought it would. You just hate to see them go through surgery if it isn't necessary.
Best of luck to you and your little guy.