Is This Just a Common Cold??

IT sounds like his has allergies that are giving him ear infections. I know they say babies don't have allergies but that's silly- there's no reason why a baby couldn't have allergies.

Also, my sister's daughter went through that and it was RSV. Her daughter finally wound up in the hospital and the Drs were shocked that the ped never caught the RSV with a simple test. Her daughter almost died from it.

sounds like it could be allergies...this is a terrible time of year for allergies. I would take him to an allergy dr.
We use Dr. Saunders at Allergy Asthma Assoc. on Kingsland Dr.

I would be cautious about ears. My daughter had ear infections all the time. The doctor never said anything about tubes. When her 6yr molers came in they were bad. It was all the meds they gave her. I have found that the cool vaporizer and motrin works just as well as anything the doctor can give.

A.
I know it is a pain but what I've figured out from all my son's ear infections is that the doctors hate to give too many meds or too high a dosage when they are babies. This would cause them to become immune to the effects of the drugs and place them in danger of meds not working when it is something serious. Talk to your doctor and let him know your concerns but don't force the issue. REmember they see babies w/ ear infections, allergies, colds every day - probably many in 1 day. Just make sure you always go in for the follow up and call if things are not getting better within the first couple of weeks. Good luck.

Take him to a chiropractor and get him adjusted. His little immune needs to flourish, and if he's subluxated, he's going to continue to get sick. They find the problem and correct it.

Ask them to do a RSV test it only takes a few min and it can get serious if it's not caught. All RSV is is a upper resperatory infection but it needs to be treated with an enhalor. My son had it and it almost went to long because his dr. never thought to test him for it. I hope that's not it but it's worth checking. I do know the feeling though because my son seems to stay sick since he goes to daycare. Hope this helps.

My son has had sinus/allergy since he was about 4months old, he is now 2. The lst 2 weeks he has been the same as yours. You can't give him anything for the cold. All the meds have been pulled off the shelf. Dr said the same thing to wait it out. We use the Vicks humidifyer thing at night for his congestion to make him more comfortable. Everytime we've just waited it out. There is something going around cause My husband got me sick and I got our son sick and it's going around at my work now. Good luck.

It could be allergies. My nephew and niece both had such bad allergies they would get ear infections. They take allergy medicine now and are doing much better. Just a thought

It sounds like he may have allergies...the pollen is really bad this year! Ask your doctor about giving him Children's Claritin or something like that. I know that allergies left untreated can turn into infections with fever.

Good Luck!

I know how you feel, I had a similar problem when my 17 year old daughter was a baby. We found out that she was not responding to the antibiotic, so the doctor changed her to a different one. That might be the case with your son. I hope he is better soon! Hang in there mommy!

I wouldn't blame it all on the daycare. My daughter has gone to daycare, and now school, and she hasn't caught a cold from there. She is allergic though. Where kids usually get sick is when they leave home. It may feel like a nice breeze to us what can cause our children to get sick. It can be early in the morning or very late at night, and that midst, is what can get them sick, including an ear infection. I know kids don't like wearing hats, try using a small blanket to cover his head on outings. From my experience, I would recommend PEDIACARE. For his age 1tsp. Sometimes a common cold needs a little bit of medicine just to feel a little relief. On all over the counter medicine, it says, under 2 consult a physician. But the doctor when my daughters were younger they always recommended pediacare. If I still remember, they have the infant drops, but it's been a while. I am 22 yrs old, have 2 daughters, 3 1/2 & 5 yr old. Good luck. Hope he feels better.

The daycare may be the problem as well. I know that when my son was going to daycare on a fulltime basis he was sick often. Maybe you should re-evaluate the daycare's cleaninginess. What will also help your son in the mean time is a humid fire and vapor rub. You might also want to bring up to the doctor possible allergies if it runs in the family. I hope this helps you! And if you need a referred doctor in the pasadena area I will gladly tell you.
Best wishes

Hi, I am a mom of two 12 years old daugther and 2 year old son. Both my children suffered from common cold symptoms for seems forever, turned out to be allergies, pretty sure from home ( mold )which is now being remodeled. If cold continues consider getting son checked for allergies. Good Luck.

Perhaps allergies are the culprit. My 3 yr old dd, takes claritin, singulair and nasonex to keep her allergies at bay. They are overwhelming for her and still there are days where no amount of prescription meds can help.

Also my dd had tubes put in last month and my niece who is only 15 months had them put in last month as well after several ear infections. They are doing splendidly now.

You may also want to check out his diet, maybe a few tweaks can be all the difference.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm a mom of a 7 year old who developed allergies when he was 2. We had never had any problems with his ears until then. It's possible the ear infection didn't clear up so the runny nose won't go away either. Or, it's spring and everything is in bloom and he is having allergy problems. The congestion caused by allergies lead to ear infections every spring and fall. At the time we went on a couple of prescription allergy meds which helped tremendously, but we ended up having to get tubes in his ears and had his tonsils and adnoid removed. That made a world of difference! He was a different kid after that. A cold should only last a week... Ask your doctor if he thinks it could be allergies, they can tell the difference. Good luck! S., mom of 2 boys, 9years and 7years

Sounds like allergies to me. Ask your doctor about Zyrtec... it just went over the counter~ Especially if there are allergies in the family :)

A.
I think you should push for an xray, if the doctor dones'nt insist. My son recently did something similar and the doctor said he had pneumonia after his xray. He needed treated with antibiotics right away.
ww

There are some pretty nasty colds going on out there, but make sure the doc is listening to his breathing. My little ones had bronchitis, there was a rattle to their breathing. Something that helped with congestion on my baby, was putting Baby vicks on his feet and covering them with socks. I'd been putting it on his chest for weeks, I did it on his feet and within 2 days it was pretty much gone.
Hope it works for you, too!

Allergies are probably the root of the problem. The allergies cause fluid build up in the sinus cavity and does two things, 1- drain to the back of the throat and cause a cough and 2- build up in his ears because tubes at this age are more horizontal than vertical. As kids get older, the face bones grow and the tubes in the ears start to move into a more diagnal/vertical position which allows drainage. Your doctor will probably recommend an allergy medicine to avoid more ear infections. Hope this helps.

Dear A.,
I have two chldren who for 4-5 year went through the same thing yearly. they did somewhat out grow the problems, but it turned out to be allergies. I too had a cough for 3 weeks and thought this has to be an infection, well it turned out to be allergies in me too, 38 years old is too old to be developing these issues , anyways 4 days on singularu and the cough has almost dissappeared. Take him to pedi. and have him looked at to make sure it is not infection, but ask could it be allerigies?

I agree with most everyone that it sounds like allergies are the underlying cause of the congestion. However, with a recent ear infection and now a new fever, it's quite possible he has another ear infection (or an antibiotic-resistant one as some people mentioned). I have two kids -- a 3-year-old and a 14-month-old. The 3-year-old is in a weekday school program and we've been through all sorts of illnesses since she started, including almost three straight months of back-to-back colds & ear infections. I've considered pulling her out, but (1) she loves it, and (2) in my view, she is just building up her immune system now vs. in kindergarten. Definitely talk to your doctor tomorrow -- I'm not sure there's anything else you can do for a cold other than saline & humidifier, etc., but the new fever makes it sound like he may have another ear infection and thus may need a stronger antibiotic.

Hi A. I recently joined the mamasource group. I saw your question this morning and couldn't resist a response becuase I was in the same situation. My three children contatnly had colds, runny noses and coughs. We had gone to the doctors office more than any place else at one time between the three of them.
However I realized how much the things around the house had to do with it when a friend told me a about going green to have a chemical and toxic free home. Please take a look at the information on these two sites to see what you think and if you have some of the same issues that I did. I am for certain that it's not just a cold. Medicating is over rated and often not affective but harmful long term to the immune system. Wait it out and give me a call about your options. ###-###-####
On the blog site you will find helpful articles about kids that keep colds!

All the Best!
http://www.healthy-us.com
http://healthyus.wordpress.com
Life is Meant to be GOOD, Live Well

A common cold does not last 4 weeks. Some docs do not want to treat 'allergy' symptoms, but as you can see, it leads to congestion in the ears and an infection. I am of the prevention mind set, especially when it comes to protecting a child's ears/hearing/speech development. Being a nurse in an early childhood center, I know your concerns, but with the pollen and allergies high for the last 4 weeks.....can we make a correlation? Sometimes it is just 'common sense' that he needs some 'allergy/cold' medication. Yes, I would push....and if no response, I would try another doc....YOU are the CONSUMER, he is NOT the MD GOD. The saline, shower, etc. suggestions work before we get into infection, sometimes. I think you are behind the 8 ball at this point.

my son use to alway get sick in day care. I kept him in day care from 6 weeks all the way up to 3 year old. As soon as I got him out of there he did great. Hes been day care free for 1 year now and hasnt got sick once. My suggestion is to try and find a home sitter that can either baby sit at your house or at theirs. His immune system may not be strong enough to handle all the germs that are at the day care place. Plus you may want to check to see how may children have runny noses at the day care. They maybe playing a game of ring a round the rosy with the upper resp. infection.

Don't push for more meds. It is better to let your son's body fight it if he can. Some of his cough and congestion could be due to allergies. The tree pollen and grass pollen are unbelievable right now. Give your son a bath before he goes to bed at night to get the pollen off his body and hair. Keep up with the saline and steamy showers. We use a waterless vaporizor at night and it works like a charm. We also use a cough suppressant by Source Naturals (Wellness Formula)that tastes good, according to my daughter. You can get the cough suppressant at HEB or a Health Food Store. Chicken Noodle Soup will help clear up his lungs. Boston Market has a good one, that my daughter loves. Hope this helps.

A., I am thinking that your son has allergies. I raised a son who was sick all the time, and to the doctor every three weeks or four. Follow your doctors' advise and sometimes children at this age get infections very easily. He goes to a daycare and he'll pick up anything. Be patient, because the older he gets the less sick he is going to get. Don't over do it with too many antibiotics, viral infections don't respond to antibiotics, they run its course. Have your doctor or someone teach you how to do percussion and drainage, that helps more then anything else to get all that mucouse out of his lungs. I will keep you in my prayers, I've been there and I've done that and you should see the big boy I raised.
God bless you and your son. T.

Hi my name is S. I have 2 grown sons now and they were in daycare at a very small age also. Now A. about your little person, you have with the common cold always sick with something, as long as the baby is in daycare he will always be sick with germs, for one thing your baby teeth are still coming in the back (jaw teethe) as well and sometime this seam like a cold, fever, runny nose, or watery eyes. On little people at this age always check with the doctor. I hope this helps a little.

My daughter started those symptoms when she started public day care at the age of 16 months. After doing tubes at the age of 19 months, the ear infections/drainage and fever continued. At the age of 2, I took her to a pediatric allergist. Two years of shots proved to be the right choice. She has been allergy free for 18 years now.Good luck.

Sounds like allergies. The cough is probably due to drainage, which can also cause ear infections if not dried up. When my children were little my pediatrician told me to give them antihistamine and it worked like a dream. The only problem is that most will make them drowsy but at your son's age that shouldn't be an issue.

Water water water... stay away from diary products during the congestion stages. Whipe down his diaper bag anything that has been touched at the day care every day. Might want to suggest to the day care facility to spray the air/whipe down surfaces/doorknobs with lysol.

O.K. Mom, colds do not normally last four weeks!! It sounds
more like an alergy to me!! Here in Texas we have so many
different pollens and things that cause allergies that we
are one of the biggest States when it comes to Allergies!

Day care centers are "Home of Viruses"! As much as they try
it is totally impossible to keep them "Clean"!
You might try some Vitamin C, for 3 or 4 days and see if that
helps him!
Allergies produce the same symptoms as colds, running nose,
coughing, low grade fever, hard for a doctor to tell the difference!
One other thing that produces these symptoms, cutting new
teeth!!
Good Luck!

A.

He might have a resistant strain and could still have an ear infection that is getting worse and may need another type of antibiotic. My son has gone through the same thing the doctor first put him on amoxicillin but that didn't work and he was put on a stronger antibiotic. Take you son back to the doctor and see if the ear infection has gotten worse. Kids in daycare now a days are developing amoxicillin resistant ear infections so you need to make sure his ears have cleared up.

Best wishes

Cecele D.

I think when a child is in daycare he is proned to getting any and everything that all the kids have.But if he has had that runny nose and congestion for that long have the Dr. do an x-ray on his chest to may sure nothing else is goin on inside that little chest of his.I hope that he will start feeling better soon,a concerned mother of 3.Maybe you should take a few days off if you can afford to and give him his meds like you suppose to give it and see if he will start to feel better with mommy taking care of his little sickness.Sometimes the mommy Love one on one will make him get better faster.B. F

My son is 3...and had the same symptoms...watery eyes,bad cough, congested, plus he had itching. The dr said he had allergies and recommended the over the counter med zyrtec. It's helped. Good luck

Hopefully its just a stubborn cold.. W the fever, they prob have already given some antibiotics... Which by the way when taken for every other symptom could pose serious damage to the heart... Im not trying to startle you.. But check do your homework on something called viral myocarditus... Its a cold, flu like illness that attacks the heart tissue... My sister had a persistent cold... Was given two diff rounds of antibiotics,, and as a result... Was left on life support for a week n a half after a simple in and out procedure (cosmetic surgery}allowed her heart to go into arythmia... The conclusion,,, she had rcently had a persistent cold,,, was treated w antibiotics, that didnt help, and developed damaged heart tissue... We as moms, dont really know what to ask about, or what to look for.. Thinking the drs know everything... Perhaps my info (which is very recent occurence....) could help. Please look into the viral myocarditus, and be persistent that the drs check your little one for the virus. Its kind of like the flu. More common that i thought...but for the heart.. Look it up on the computer.. Read about it... I couldnt read your post, and not tell you about it... Good luck... And i hope its just the common runny nose type cold.... God bless, and lots of hugs for your sick little one.

I'm sure I'm probably repeating what many others have said, but it sounds more like allergies than a cold. Watery eyes are usually associated with allergies. Does he have dark circles under his eyes? If so, that's indicative of an allergy. I have had to be on 3 rounds of antibiotics for bronchitis and sinus infections that are secondary to allergies this year. This has been a HORRIBLE allergy season for some reason, so you might ask your doctor about Claritin or Zyrtec or something to treat the allergy rather than treating the ear infections and cough that result. Good luck, I hope you get an answer!

Hi A.,

My little one just turned 17 months and for the past 3 1/2 weeks he has had the same symptoms as you described. He started daycare for the first time at 16 months and not to alarm you but I pulled him out after only a month because apparently a friend of mine has had her son in the daycare for about 8 months and the poor child has had colds back to back. Well evidently the daycare was not washing/cleaning his sippy cup. She brought the sippy cup to the dr. and they examined it....it was full of mold. The mold was what was keeping the baby sick. So you may want to look into that if he doesn't show improvement.

Good luck and I hope he gets better.