21 Month Old Daughter Always Sick

M. I would try taking her to an allergy dr. Just so they can run more extensive allergy tests on her. Poor thing. If that doesn't work I would go back to an Ear Nose and Throat dr. and see if maybe she needs her adenoids/tonsils taken out.

Good Luck. I hope she gets to feeling better.

When my son went to an in home daycare with just 2 other children, he was sick at least every other month if not more often. Even if it is clean, you can't see germs spread by others. Once her immune system strengthens, she'll probably get sick less often. Before that happens, you'll probably end up missing a lot of work. I did. I think I was paying the school district, I missed so many days! Haha! See a specialist if your mommy instincts think that's best! Always go with your gut feeling. Good luck!

M.,

Have you considered food allergies as a cause. Congestion to the point of infection (especially that often) is a common, yet often missed symptom of food allergies. I found out about mine when I was in my early 20's because I was getting a sinus infection at least once a month. Often that was where it started, but it would move down on me through my throat, into my lungs. I often got strep because my immune system was low and I was a teacher at the time. I am an asthmatic that never found a truly effective inhaler or breathing treatment until I discovered my food allergies. I stopped eating cinnamon and chocolate :( and I haven't had an asthma attack in 5 years!! I also rarely get sick, when I used to have seasonal illness instead of hay fever.

My three year old has only had three ear infections in his life. They were all within an 8 week period when I let him start eating peanuts. The Docs will swear that that is not what happens with a peanut allergy, but every time he eats even just one, his nose starts running within minutes. I'm not bashing doctors I've just found that sometimes they miss the boat on allergies. They treat the symptoms and not the cause.

You don't even need to do allergy testing (that's expensive) just Google common food allergens and you'll get lists. (Wheat, soy, tomatoes, cow's milk, citrus, etc.) Read your labels carefully, you'd be surprised how many products contain multiple of these. See which of these are biggest in your daughter's diet. Pick two or three to eliminate for 3 weeks or so. Then try them one at a time. You remember the three day wait rule when she started eating solids. Do it again and see if she gets congested, or gets another ear infection soon after reintroducing the food. Another symptom to look for is irritability beyond the norm. I might even wait a whole week before reintroducing the next food just to be safe.

M.
Call if you have any questions.
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As a mom to 3 boys, my advise is to get rid of all chemicals in your home... (I prefer the Shaklee organic/natural cleaners they last forever and worke great)
Put your baby on multi vitamins (shaklee has a great kids vitamin (organic) Also I love the Nordic Natural products, they have a great DHA o-mega 3 pill and liquid (they are also 3rd party tested),

Use probiotics... and clean hads often, use wipes on grocery carts and if she keeps getting sick like this then see an immunologist... good luck

HTH
A. J

Hi M.!! I'm sorry to hear what your daughter (and you) are going through! Just a suggestion...get the toxins, chemicals and fumes out of your house. By switching your products, you'll see a huge difference. There have been studies and tests done, that household products (cleaners, laundry detergent, some personal items, etc.) have so many chemicals/toxins in them, that they are contributing to asthma, allergies, excema, just to name a few.

I'd love to talk to you and help you get these things out of your house. It's very simple, very cost effective and you'll all do so much better.

Either way, good luck to her!!
T.
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I know exactly how you feel. My son who is almost 3, has been on medications since he was 2 mos old.
First of all I do not think it is a day care thing. That is something of the past. My oldest was in day care a lot and was/is never sick. My youngest has never been in day care and is sick all the time. I have several friends that are stay at home moms who have kids that get sick all the time as well. Besides studies now show that kids who are in day care are healthier as adults because they become immune to illnesses because of the exposer. I'm not trying to preach about daycare vs staying at home. I just do not want you to worry about something that should be a non issue. Us moms have enough to worry about (LOL)

Ok enough about that. When my son was born he started with eczema. It was so bad that he developed a staph infection that later turned into a more serious bacterial infection. I took him to the peditrician several times with no relief. I also noticed that when he was outside for a long time or when the weather would change he would get this raspy cough and drainage like nobody's business. His eyes would even seep drainage. I wanted to take him to an allergist for his breathing but was told by many that they won't treat kids until they are 2 or older. At the time my son was 19 mos, So I felt so discouraged. Anyways I found a wonderful Allergist (he is in Plano email me if you want his info) who treated kids under 2. After finding out what he was allergic to I was able to better control the the outbreaks. I was also told that he had asthma. I thought maybe he did because it is hereditary and I have asthma (though not as severe as he does). I also found out that gene that causes eczema (also hereditary, but I did not have this) is the same gene that causes asthma. Since seeing the allergist we have only had one major issue (he was hospitalized). We give him his inhaler when he starts to wheez or cough a lot. If that doesn't help we give him breathing treatments at home every 2 hours until his breathing is almost to normal and then every 4-6 until he stops wheezing. Because he is allergic to grass, we give him the zyrtec about 2 hours before he goes outside. He was also prescribed singulair chewable tablets (which he loves) for at night. This seems to really help with the breathing. If he is stopped up we give him mucinex instead of zyrtec because mucinex is a decongestant where zyrtec is an antihistime. I would recommend talking to an allergist so you can see what she is allergic to. I will warn you that most allergist do the prick test and it can be hard on the little one so have something special planned for her after she goes through it. Also talk to your PCP or allergist about singulair.
Believe it or not this is more common than you think. Good luck and please let me know if you need any more help. keep me updated too!

First of all I am so sorry to hear that your daughter is constantly sick, I know exactly how you feel with her never being happy, cuz of her being so sick all of the time. My daughter was the same way with allergies and ear infections her first year of life.

Even if she doesnt put anything in her mouth, germs are also airbourne. Kids never ever (small kids)cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough. Or if they do then they dont wash their hands afterwards. I use to work in a daycare and I saw it all. The daycare can be so so clean, but you never know what is lying beneath. You have to constantly be spraying with lysol or the clorox wipes. Its amazing how many parents send their kids to daycare when they are sick. Due to the fact, the parents have to go to work and they have no one to watch their child. Therefore, they send their sick chilc to daycare and not tell anyone and then that child is infecting everyone else.
Good Luck! I hope your daughter starts feeling better real soon.

Hi M.,

I am a proud mother of an 11 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. My son went through the very same thing when he was 6 months to 2 years old. I found out he was allergic to milk and milk products. I switched him to soymilk and soy cheese. This worked very well over time. My pediatrician told me that he would out grow the milk allergy and eventually I let him have the milk and cheeses again. He LOVES queso dip! Anyway, during his 3rd grade year in school he was tested for hearing like they normally do, but he didn't pass. He never complained about his ears but he was struggling, for the first time ever, that year in school. I thought, and I was being told that I needed to have him tested for a learning disorder and come to find out he just couldn't hear. I went to the ENT and they cleaned out the gum~ not fluid that had been building in his ears. I took him to an allergist. She did the full allergy screening with the needles on the back. She recommended that I take him off all milk and gluten products. Went to Abudant Health on Main Street/1171 in Lewisville next to Lewisville High School (you need to go there) and as I shopped I couldn't find any kid friendly foods besides fruits and vegetables that didn't include milk and/or gluten. The attendant spent some time sharing with me that I should rule out one of the two and that she sees milk allergies all the time. She told me I should start there. I did and in just days of clearing the milk out of the whole house (the family changed too) he could tell the difference. To this day he can eat an ice cream cone or a yogart cup and the next morning he can tell his ears begin to stop up. After I made the changes too I could tell my ears cleared as well... I ate a yogart cup a day... not anymore. I lean on my soymilk. I do not force anyone to drink their milk. I prefer they just take their calcium everyday or broccolli :-) Good luck to you and I hope you find a solution soon. They are so precious at your daughter's age. Actually, at any age they are precious.

Sounds to me like you should seek out an ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist). In many instances these symptoms are caused by overactive tonsils and/or adenoids. This was the case with several of the children in our extended family. My husband's cousin's daughter was similar to yours, but once she had her tonsils and adenoids removed, she was fine! Same with the son of another cousin -- he was a mess until he finally got his adenoids removed.

If this is not the cause of her ills, then as a next step you may also want to consider if she has allergies/asthma, so it might not be a bad idea to visit an allergist as well.

Hi M.

My oldest is 21 months and for the first year we battled everything also, we have tubes, croop, drainage. This year I had triplets and you can imagine the cost of daycare...so we decided that my husband would stay at home with the girls...so my oldest was pulled out of daycare (at home very clean...the lady was a neat freak...but I loved her) since that month my daughter has not been sick. You know what it is like to be a teacher...kids just carry things, even in the cleanest of classrooms. I do feel like it is being with other kids...it is part of who they are. If I were you, and I know this isn't an easy suggestion...what about a nanny share or just hiring a nanny. I know that we can't shelter our darlings...but I hated seeing my little girl with stuff poring from her nose and her eyes red. It is worth a shot and the price can't be that different than what you are paying. Good luck

I had the same problem when my daughter was that age. She's now three. My son, who has Down syndrome and therefore, a suppressed immune system used to catch EVERYTHING... we spent more time in the doctor's office than they did at school!! It was horrible. A lot of mom's I know use Juice Plus for their kids with Autism due to limited diet and immune issues and I had heard about it for a while but never really bought into it. Finally, after a year of absolute hell with illness after illness and ear infection after ear infection, and tired of snot being on everyone and everything... I finally tried it and I have to say, it has been the best investment. My son and daughter have been on it for over a year now and my daughter has not been sick one time! My son has caught one bug and it took him way less recovery time to get over it. I take it too since I also have another daughter and with 3 kids and working as an occupational therapist, I do not have time to be sick and I definitely feel better. Juice Plus is a whole food based product. That's it. nothing else is in it. So basically, it is the same thing as if you ate all the fuits and veggies you were supposed to everyday, imagine how healthy you'd be... that's all Juice Plus is. It cost 22 to 40$ per month depending on what you order..... which is a lot less than co-pays at the dr.office! They come in gummies, chewables, or capsules (you can break open and mix them in anything..oatmeal, milk..whatever). My kids do the chewables. I use the capsules. I hate to sound like a sales person, but it really has made the biggest difference in their quality of life. I've just started my youngest (12months) on it as she has a lot of food allergies and a poor immune system too.

Another therapy we use that has helped my son with Down syndrome with ear infections is craniosacral therapy. It's a little on the crunchy side as it is considered an alternative therapy, but we've seen great things with it. we use a guy named Ken Piercy in addison. www.kenpiercy.com

If you're wanting to travel more of the medical route... you might check out a pulmonologist (Dr. Andrew Gelfand is fantastic) for all the respitory issues. Or an allergist (Dr. Robert Sugarman or Dr. Wasserman in the same office are both great) or maybe a GI dr. since that's where your immune system is most involved (we like Dr. Kendall Brown). You might also seek guidance from a nutritionist (Faye Elahi is great)

If you're interested in more information about the Juice Plus let me know. Being a pediatric therapist, I know a lot of moms who use it and love it and have experiences similar to mine. I heard about it when my son was 2 but was skeptical... 4 years later I finally bought it and I so wish we had started it sooner. Now the only thing we go to the dr. for is well checks annually.
R.

I am not a medical expert so I can't tell you if your child is more sick than "normal." However, if you are concerned, I would definitely talk to your pediatrician about your concerns. If your pediatrician doesn't take your concerns seriously, consider getting a new pediatrician. I am sorry that your daughter is fighting so many illnesses. I know that must be stressful.

Hi, I had very similar problem with my older son now 13. I would seek the advice of an ENT, sometimes removal of your tonsils is like a miracle from God. I would also talk to your doctor about healing problems. It took doctors over a year to figure out my son had nutrapenia (sp) which did not allow him to heal from the ear infections and colds in the same amount of time as other children. My son has outgrown it and rarely has even a cold. I know food and other enviromental issues can cause the same, but it would hurt to ask about your child's ability to heal.

Good Luck!