Son Is Still Sick

is he getting enough sleep. Is he getting multivitamins?
had a girlfriend w/ problem. I would have child see a pulmonary specialist may have allergies that seems like a col.

You could take him to a pediatric ENT specialist if you feel he is sick with upper respiratory viruses so frequently. Perhaps there might be something going on that is causing him to be susceptible to these illnesses. Good luck.

You can't give him antibiotics every time he gets sick you have to wait it out about 4 days to see if he can build up the immunity on his own. Most viruses do not require the antibiotics the only things that do are strep, ear infections, and urinary tract infections anything other than that should go away on its own. My son got sick a lot too he is 2 and a half but it is normal at his age to have a runny nose a lot because they are building up resistance it also important to keep him fluidated have good nutrition and a good amount of sleep to fend off illness.
Gook luck.
From H.

My daughter, now 8, was and is always sick. I went through the same thing feeling something wasn't right. Ended up she had asthma.
When she was a few months old until she was two years old she would get non stop fevers and colds and she was never in daycare. When she turned 2 she would get the heavy duty sicknesses like pnuemonia and chronic sinus infections. It wasn't until she was 6 years old she was referred to an asthma doctor and then diagnosed with asthma.
She also ended up having her tonsils and adenoids out and also had surgery on her left sinus to widen it.
They also tested her immunity which came back low, of course, and they gave her a pnuemonia vaccine which is intended to boost the immune system and titers in the body.
As the years go by her ability to fight infections does get better but if it's out there my daughter comes down with it. It also takes her a long time to get over even a cold.
I would definately pursue this with your childs doctor because if it doesn't seem right to you it probably isn't. I can't tell you how many times I took my daughter to her doctor before we had an answer. It even took me changing her first pediatrician of five years before we had an answer.
If your son isn't responding to his medication he either isn't being treated for the right thing or there is an underlying issue.
My daughters sinus infections were so chronic and so bad she was on antibiotics for 50 days straight! It wasn't until they took her tonsils and adenoids out that she finally stopped getting them. And by the way, they need an x ray to really know for sure if there is an infection in the sinuses.
One more thing...my friends son was always sick too with chronic ear infections(he had to have tubes in and I think he had his tonsils and adenoids out too)and it wasn't until she took him off gluten(he ended up having celiacs) and dairy that he started to not get sick so much. He was in daycare also.
You wouldn't think taking certain foods out of you childs diet would make a bit of difference but it really does.
The results of my friends efforts to find out why her child was sick all the time was amazing. His response to those foods being out of his diet was amazing.
I hope some of this info helps. Good luck and keep us posted as to what you find out.

Hi D.,

YOU know best. Definitely get a second opinion!
I posted the following as a response to another 'sick' post. I hope you find it useful.

Preventative measures are the best in my opinion. I run an all natural preschool and we follow this method when the cold starts to set in.
1. Wash hands often, I can't say this enough. Everyone should be washing before and after they eat and before and after playing with toys.
2. Elderberries in your diet. I make elderberry tea from dried elderberries for snack every day! It is an immune booster that is safe and healthy for children.
3. Garlic in your diet. We have garlic added into our lunches.
4. Eating healthy whole foods. Lots of fresh veggies, seeds and nuts, beans, whole grains (like brown rice, quinoa, et cetera)

If and when they do become congested: saline spray to clear out their nasal passages, eucalyptus in the bath, humidifier at night in their room.

This has worked out very well for my children and myself without resorting to treating the aftermath of getting a terrible cold.

My daughter has gotten croup twice (once each winter) and hot steamy bathrooms worked for her to breath well. Once we had to go and get a nebulizer treatment. But other than that she had been healthy. No ear infections, or normal childhood issues except for the two croup issues.

For my family and myself, I make an elderberry syrup that we take each day in the fall and winter months. One tablespoon dried elderberries to a half cup water, boil gently on the stove with a lid for 10 minutes, let sit for 10 minutes, add local raw honey to taste sweet, put in a lidded glass jar in the fridge and take a 1/4 cup or more each day. When you feel a cold coming on, take about 1/4 cup each hour all day and the cold either doesn't amount to anything or you get a little congestion. Keep taking it whenever you can remember while you are congested.

I hope this helps.
P.

Edit: I would also like to add that the flu shot doesn't always help. We never get flu shots because when we have gotten them, at the request of our old doctor, we ended up being sicker over the winters. It has worked well for my friends son who is asthmatic in the past but he has been regularly seeing a chiropractor and no longer has asthma issues...something to think about.

Is he taking vitamins? I am a big believer in vitamins, mostly because kids are such bad eaters. Also try to avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. Too many doctors will prescribe one just to keep the parents happy. Antibiotics do NOT cure viruses. What they do is weaken a person's immunity system, sort of like a crutch when you break your leg. After the cast is off you need to strengthen the muscles. Continued use of antibiotics kills the good bacteria as well as the bad as do hand sanitizers. If you use all the antiseptic stuff stop. It is really harmful, because it kills the germs that fight off the infections.

Hi D.,

As an owner of a preschool I can tell you frequent illness does come with the territory. However, as KC said cleanliness, and sterilizing, is key to help prevent illness. Frequent hand washing, cleaning and sterilizing toys, etc. should be practiced on a daily basis. At my center when we see children putting toys in their mouth we immediately wash them, along with every Friday toys are sterilized. Lysol is sprayed daily at closing on all areas of the classroom. I would make sure that the center is following all sterilization procedures and if you feel that it is not then find another center. One the bright side your son is building his immunities for future exposure and in time he will get sick less often. One other thought is to make sure you go for a recheck after strep. When my daughter was in fourth grade she had strep four times within a short period of time. The doctor felt she just wasn't completely getting rid of it so it would improve but not completely go away. She had to be on a strong dose of antibiotics for a longer period of time to get rid of it completely. After the round of antibiotics go back for another culture to make sure it is completely gone. Good luck!!!

D., I feel your pain.... from day care to a baby sitter who smokes the ear infections and runny eyes got worse.
Got an air purifyer, took the carpeting out, took down the drapes and put in wooden blinds which are easier to clean in his room.

Invest in a humidifier for when he is ill it gets better.

Hi D.:

In conjunction with your doctor care, consult with an Alternative Practitioner who can assist your son to be well without any further harm to his body. It sounds like it be could a couple of things. Feel free to consult with me for effective care.

All my best,
N.
www.wholecreations.com/wombfull.html

Absolutely, take him to see another doctor. Follow your instinct

Dear D.,

I agree with what a lot of the other responses say, but I cannot stress enough that you need to get your son on a good probiotic. Probiotics are the good bacteria that we all have in our gut and with each round of antibiotics you destroy all of them. However, we need the good bacteria to be able to fend of viruses and bad bacteria as well as to be able to digest our food properly. So please find a good multi-strain probiotic (there are even chewables that you find in the store or order on the internet) and I would find him a good strong multivitamin and maybe add some omegas. All of these come in gummibear form or liquid, so you should be able to get it into your son. Please don't expect miraculous improvement, give it at least 3 months to have any effect, but keep at it religiously and within 6 months you should see a remarkable difference. The only thing this might not fully eliminate is the streph virus, once a kid catches that it is prone to reoccur. If you see success with the mulitvitamines, probiotics and omegas, find a good herbal antiviral (discuss with someone knowledgeable at your local Whole Foods or nutrition store) and see if this helps.
You also might want to consider switching to a pediatrican who has a more holistic/natural approach and takes your concerns seriously.

My daughter, at 18 months went through this, every other week she was sick with something different.It was right after she started preschool. A couple of times I had to take her to Urgent care, which one time she had to have an IV because of not eating or drinking.
Right after that, my husband ended up in the hospital with pneumonia so we pulled her from the preschool. I wondered if they weren't cleaning toys etc. or washing hands very well at the preschool. I kept her out for a half year and then put her in a different preschool, haven't had that problem since.

Dear D.,

I agree with all the advice you've gotten so far. I just want to add that your son could have a mild intolerance to something in his diet. My own little guy literally got one ear infection after another until we got every drop of milk (plus whey, caesin, etc.) out of his diet. He hasn't had another one since.

This doesn't necessarily mean that milk is the culprit in your son's case. Intolerances involving wheat, eggs, soy, and other common ingredients can also weaken the immune response. So ... I really recommend consulting with a naturopathic physician and/or a holistic nutritionist. These practitioners often don't take insurance, but their rates are usually reasonable.

Best wishes to you and your little guy!

Mira

D., you are smart to want to stear clear of antibiotics as much as possible as it kills the benificial bacteria as well as the harmful. Have you considered what you are cleaning your house with? My son and I are asthmatics who up until a few years ago were cronicly ill with bronchitis and strep infections. It was a rare moment when we weren't sneezing or wheezing! I looked into this company called Melaleuca and began switching to their house hold cleaners. The result is AMAZING! My son has not used a nebulizer in 3 years! We have not had bronchitis in a very long time either. I looked into this further and found that they also have a wonderful suppliment line, comsetics and bath and body products. We have switched all these types of products that we use to Melaleuca's I can't tell you how amazing we feel! My husband and 2 other children have benifited as well. I neverf mad the connection between our illnesses and the chemicals in our cleaning products until I was introduced and I made the switch. I urge you to look into this amazing company!

www.Melaleuca.com

A. Martin
____@____.com

Have they checked his tonsils? Also after I had my children, I was always getting brochitis and I read an article about allergys. My doctor sent me for testing and I have never had problems since except a regular cold once in a while .I get allergy shots every two weeks . I hate to have young children go through that but you might bring it up to your doctor. If not, I would look for a second opinion. R.

I agree with some of the other posts that you should take your son to a specialist - a pulminologist and ENT would be a good place to start. Our daughter had similar chronic sickness last winter when she was 2 1/2. We took her to a pulminologist late last winter who diagnosed her with asthma. We have been treating the asthma with a nebulizer (which we will use only fall-spring) and besides 2 very minor colds that only lasted 2 days each, she has not been sick at all since then. Time will tell what winter will bring, but I feel encouraged based on how quickly she was able to bounce back from those colds.

I did have that problem when my son was that age! I know it is very frustrating and the Dr's actually frustrated me more....medicine after medicine and test after test...enough already! I figured out I was using cleaning items in the house that gave him a chronic respiratory infection and even eczema! Do you clean with bleach?