3 Year Old with Chronic Flu

Hi J.,
I want to be helpful and supportive, but this is the ropes of preschool and that age. But, don't feel defeated. Here's what we've done to get through it, because I also had to work.
- Have child get PLENTY of rest. Even though you might want to play after a long day at work and missing family. Bed early and stress naps while at school.
- Ask school about their sick policy and ask them to post it and remind parents this school isn't a a holding place for infectious kids and lazy parents. They got my point when I started pointing out kids that had bight green and yellow runny noses.
- Teach daughter to use hand santizer and make a big deal out of bathing every evening after school ... make it fun!
- Vitamins and pleanty of fluids everyday, not just when feeling lousy.
Thinking positive healthy thoughts for you!

As a preschool teacher, all I can tell you is - and this will dissapoint you - there is not much you can do. I would suggest NOT giving her vitamin C or suppliments of any type, as they are dangerous for young children( not FDA regulated at all) and will not prevent your child from getting sick.
Since she only just started with the preschool/daycare 4 months ago, her immune system has just recently been bombarded with every germ and virus on every surface and child in that classroom. It is also winter, which is the worst time for colds as flus, as the children will be cooped up in the classroom more often than they will be out of it. She will catch every illness that comes into the school environment until her immune system becomes strong enough to fight off those germs. It may be a few months still until she is well for any period of time.
If she continues to be chronically ill with flu, I would suggest you think of changing preschools. Handwashing, using hand santizer often, and how and with what the preschool cleans with can make a huge difference. I am a special ed preschool teacher, and since many of our children are medically fragile, we have to go through AMAZING lengths to keep everything germ free and sanitized. It is a private preschool, and so we go to great lengths to cater to our clients: the cleaning at most preschools is a minimum, and you really have to look around to find one that has proper cleaning practices. Despite this, children still get sick! Its just one of those things.
Hope this helps. If you need any information on what specifically to do to try to keep your child well, or what your school should be doing to keep the kids healthy, send me an email!

K.

I totally understand what you are going through. I am considering putting my daughter in preschool this year but I know they tend to get sick often. I know of some great vitamins for kids that you can try if you're interested. Also, if you are looking to change your situation, and be a stay-at-home mom again, I may have an opportunity for you. T.

Hi J.,

I just saw this -- does your daughter still have the chronic "flu"? If so, it's time to get some blood work done, depending on what you mean by "flu." If you're talking fevers, general achiness and fatigue/malaise, demand testing for CBC, white count, etc. If you're looking at constant cold symptoms, you might want to consider investigating an allergic component.

move her out of that day care. They are obviously not segregating the sick kids or sending them home as they should. I would try a new day care. Also make sure you boost her imune system with lots of fruits and veggies.

J., when my son was the same age he used to get sick very often, to the point that he ended in intensive car for a whole week, he almost didn't make it. I move him out from the old preschool he was going (old modular buildings) to a different preschool facility with new buildings and since then he hasn't been sick at all,, maybe just a little running nose here and there...I think the modular buildings probably had mold and who knows what else!...I'm so glad I did that, he stop getting sick right away. Now we started to give my whole family the flue shot every year...except my husband wouldn't do it so he spent Christmas in bed last year with a bad flu...he is doing it this year. I used echinacea myself since I suffer from asthma and used to get extremely ill also...everytime i tried it I will end up in the emergency room with breathing problems (I used to think I took the echinacea too late)....then I found out that I'm highly allergic to it and that is why I will have problems breathing...I have the same reaction to Airborne (I looked at the ingredients and realized it has echinacea also)....so I don't take it anymore and now I learned to look at the ingredient labels...people thinks that because it is natural it will be ok...but it is not.
Good luck.

J.,

You are in a tough spot. This is a normal occurrence with daycare. You need to build her immune system and yours. Echinacea works but in short time frames. Your body will build a tolerance to it if you don’t take a break from it. Call me and I can give you some pointers and recommendations.

Here to help

L. C
Personal Nutritionist
###-###-####

When my daughter started pre-school she was sick a lot too. But the flu can be dangerous. I would also pack her lunch with berries which are rich in antioxidants. Maybe some Ensure also until she's all better.

first off talk to your pediatrician about giving her a flu shot! next talk to the daycare staff about other children coming in sick, and if they are teaching PROPER handwashing techniques, and thirdly get airborne for kids! this should help alot, if not you may want to think about changing her daycare situation to something with alot less children who can get her sick as her immune system may not be able to handle of this yet.

You have a lot of great advice and I'm glad she is better. I have to say tho the idea of not using supplements because they are not FDA regulated is hooey. The FDA is fighting to keep supplements off the market because the big pharmaceuticals do not want the competition. You are much better with Vitamin C and berries and veggies and good natural supplements than over dosing on antibiotics. We market a great supplement and I didn't knw better until we started drining it and being educated. My son was sick alot when he was little and had antibiotics a lot . When he was about 18 we found out he had Candidas which is a yeast infection which is fed by the antibiotics and the doctors never told us. In fact when he told our MD she said well she doubted that was what he had. Hmmm I love my doctor but thru the years I have learned that My son is first of all My responsibility. I had to learn a lot the hard way. You all are fortunate to have a site like this. Our website is www.open4opportunity.com and you can learn about the juice there. It sure helped me to strenghten my immune system and that of my son and grandson. You go MOMS

Take her back to the dr. It could be symptoms od diabetes. My daughter got the flu and it never went away we called an ambulance she went into a diabetic coma. Go back to the dr. Have them check her sugar and make sure daibetes is not a factor. M. Petersen

I dont know if you did this already but it is not too late for a flu shot. The news keeps saying schools have up to 45% absent kids due to flu. Another thing is to check what the preschool sick policy is and make sure other parents are sticking to it because it really isnt fair to the other kids if sick kids are going to preschool. One more thing is could it be something other than the flu, that just has flu symptoms and your dr. hasnt looked deep enough. They can do simple tests with a stool sample , no needles.
Hope you guys feel better soon.

I went through the same thing when I returned to work and decided to put our daughter in daycare. My third day back I was called to pick her up as she had caught a cold.
It can be frustrating, but in the long run it is worth it. She has amazing social skills from daycare. The first winter in daycare is always the toughest after that, their immune system is stronger, allowing them to fight off different viruses. Hang in there.

Sorry to hear about the flu. There is a place in Northridge hospital that is like a day care for sick kids. They are nurses who will watch your child if you need to work. They are very reasonably priced and they take good care of the kids.
Good Luck

Demand a complete immune panel be done. My daughter was sick all the time as well and I knew it wasn't the usual 10 colds per year the doctors say to expect. We found out thru the immune panel that she is immune deficient. We are waiting to see an immunologist at UC Irvine. We are in Las Vegas.

Good luck.

Hey there J.. Here's one more consideration for you, how much time is your child spending outside in this cold weather? Years ago, when I started teaching preschool, I supplemented my income by subbing at daycare "preschools". What I observed is that some of these centers FORCE the children to go outside every day -- as soon as they hit the 2s. Freezing mornings, as long as it was dry, the kids were essentially locked outside to "go play". Often times coats were not even put on them. I was shocked to say the least. I think we can all figure out how that impacts a sick little child's immune system.

The reason for this practice was that the under-paid, under-trained, and over-tired teacher's aides (the bulk of their workforce) wanted to wear the kids out so that they would come in, eat lunch and then settle down for a lonnnnnng nap -- sparing them from caring for the children for the bulk of the afternoon.

I would recommend talking to the director about your situation. Question their sanitation practices, as another mom suggested. How rigorous are they about having the children wash their hands before meals for example? (This alone would do it.) Do staff wear gloves and wash hands after helping each child with toileting/diapering? How are tables cleaned before and after meals? (Both a detergent type cleaner and a spray disinfectant should be used.)

But also ask about the daily routine. How much time does your child spend outside on a winter morning? Ask if you can come and observe. And see what kind of response you get.

It may be time to find another daycare arrangement.

Although it is normal for them to go through a phase of being sick more often (because of exposure to so many new germs), this sounds excessive. Especially as it is always the flu, not varied with lesser colds, etc.

Really, she's getting it from being in daycare. That's not a slam on putting her in daycare..it's true. Kids will often get sick and remain sick when they begin daycare and/or school, because they're not used to be around so many kids who go to daycare sick.

I know what a struggle it can be to be a SAHM in Southern California, but it's definitely not impossible. And yes, my disclaimer is that I'm an advocate for keeping kids out of daycare. LOL But, it IS possible with a strict budget or maybe even having a part time job where you work when hubby is home. Not wonderful, but then at least your daughter would have you home during the day. IMNSHO, her health is worth exploring other options. Oh! There are also lots of legitimate companies now who have telecommuting jobs from home. I'll see if I can find the link if you're interested...