Always sick

Anna_Aus · May 9, 2004

I just re-read this post and thought I better clarify...I'm not expecting somebody to come and tell me what's wrong with her. I was just hoping if any of you are community child health nurses or have even just had experience with your own kids, maybe you'd know if things like moving states and being exposed to new germs etc could be the problem and it just takes time to build up immunity again????

CCU NRS · May 9, 2004

I don't know about babies but I do know that after a season of a really bad flu like we had the sinus infections and ear infections are horrible and almost incurable. I had a sinus infection and went through three different antibiotics an none of them killed it, while I was taking the ABX (antibiotics symptoms would clear but as soon as I was finished it was back with a vengence.

Good Luck and I hope your little one feels beter soon!

Mithrah · May 9, 2004

Wow Anna, what a beautiful baby!

Anna_Aus · May 9, 2004

oh thanks :) thats a beautiful cat you got there too!!

pic was 18 months ago obviously....

stevierae · May 9, 2004

I thought I might see if anyone here could help me since we've been to a couple of Dr's now and haven't got any decent answers.
I moved interstate three months ago with my daughter who is now 18 months old.
It seems ever since we've moved she's been constantly sick. She's had thrush twice and then several colds and a few weeks ago had middle ear infections in both ears following a cold. Two weeks after finishing antibiotics she has another cold and we went back to the Dr yesterday to check the ears. They told me one was red but to try to get rid of the cold before it turns into more ear infections.
I just can't work out WHY she's suddenly sick all the time. She eats really well...fruit & vegies, meat, grains & diary...(except when shes sick of course).
I dont know if anyone will have any idea...sort of a long shot i know, but since the dr's really didn't seem to care I thought i'd see if anyone here could shed some light?????

Just a thought--maybe the pediatrician could work her up for allergies? Maybe start keeping a food diary, and see if she reacts particularly to any certain foods? Milk, citrus or wheat could be a culprit--even if she tolerated these foods fine when she was younger.

Keep us informed. It's so hard seeing your little one sick.

Indy, LPN, LVN · May 9, 2004

Is your little one teething? I noticed when mine were between 1 and 3, (they started late and took forever to get their teeth in) that this time seemed to be the sickest time for both of them. More hay fever, runny noses, sinus infections and the mysterious fevers that didn't seem to be related to anything.

At one time my youngest had fevers for a week and it was frustrating enough to quit calling the pediatrician, and take her in. Turned out she had a sinus infection so far back in her head that they had to take a head xray to see it.

I'm still in school and have no clue what may have been the cause of that correlation, but where I'm from, moms seem to think that it's common sense that kids get sick more often while teething. Hm, I think that goes on the list of things to ask my instructors.

-Indy

dansamy · May 9, 2004

If she's in a daycare environment, then yes. Moving has exposed her to a different variety of local germs than the ones to which she'd already built up immunity. Sort of like a new school teacher. For the 1st year or two, a new school teacher will catch every bug that comes through her classroom population. After that, her immune system has built up immunities to the local bugs and she's rarely ever sick.

PJMommy · May 9, 2004

I agree on the allergies. Specifically, you could try eliminating dairy products for a week or two and see if she improves. Another thought...one of mine started getting the constant ear infections, colds, etc. at about 18-24 mths. This continued until he was about 4 y/o when I finally took him to a pediatric ENT to evaluate for ear tubes. Turns out he didn't need tubes -- he needed his tonsils and adenoids out. They were large enough...even at baseline...to cause ear infections, sinus infections, and sleep apnea (which made him constantly tired and prone to infection). He has literally had not one illness in 2 yrs since the T&A. You can't visualize adenoids without some sort of diagnostic like an x-ray. I learned that, in the toddler years, those lymph nodes like tonsils and adenoids can just go a little wacko in growth and the kids end up with all sorts of manifestations of illness.

Might be worth a shot to have evaluated.

Good luck!!

PJ

laurasc · May 9, 2004

Sounds environmental.

When my eldest ds was about a year old we lived in an upper douplex that had a real problem with mold. He had asthma, croup more times than I can count, ear infections galore and was always sick. As soon as we moved out and into a much newer and cleaner appartment he improved immediately. The same thing happened when we moved into another house that had old carpeting and a serious humidity problem. Now that we live here, (in another city) again in a newer place with wood floors, he's well.

You would be surprised how much certain allergens and irritants in the environment can affect a child's health...INCLUDING making them more susceptible to viral and bacterial infections. Take a look around your house and see what you can find. Old carpeting usually has molds growing under it. Dust and dustmites as well. Do you have mold growing around your windows? (if there is, I guarantee that it is also growing inside your walls) Is there a lot of humidity or not enough? Have your air ducts been cleaned? Do you have filters on them? Are there chemical irritants in your house? When we lived in our last house it had an old slow burning wood stove that was poorly installed. There was a lot of creosote and no flue to shut off the backdraft. But ds and I suffered because of it. It improved a lot when we blocked the stove off with plastic. The same can be said for her daycare and any other place that she spends a lot of time in.

I would look into identifying and eliminating those problems first then see what happens.

fiestynurse · May 9, 2004

Take her to an ENT specialist. My daughter had numerous "colds" and "ear infections" as a baby and was on numerous antibiotics. Eventually, she developed an allergy to PCN. I took her to an ENT doctor who thought she had seasonal allergies, with chronic sinus and ear congestion. I started giving her "Dimetapp" - children's liquid grape flavored. It seemed to help. The ENT doctor monitored it closely and treated it conservatively, avoiding the placement of ear tubes.

Audreyfay · May 9, 2004

I noticed with my daughter that when we moved from hot water heat to forced air heat, she suddenly suffered from tonsillitis many times, as well as cold after cold. She took more days off school than imaginable. (3rd grade). Finally got her tonsils out and she was better. For us it was the move, different viruses, different climate, and different allergens in the house.