Hello Ladies. I am at my wits end and am hoping to get some advice from all of you moms out there. My almost 2 year old daughter has been plagued by what I've been thinking are colds about 2 weeks out of every month for about the past 6 months. She'll get stuffy and then the next day she's got a runny nose and a HORRIBLE cough. I've treated her with motrin (recommended by her pedi to help with inflamation) and having her sleep on an incline. She rarely has any other symptoms; her energy and mood are normal. She eats well (for the most part) and sleeps ok (the cough can be disruptive at times). It's a very deep in the chest sounding cough. I've taken her to the dr. over the course of a a couple of the "colds" and have been told that it's a cold and will pass. If it were once in a while I would accept this...but the frequency of these colds concerns me. They generally last 7-10 days. I'm wondering about allergies. I have cats and her dad has a dog, horse and pigs. She goes for her 2 year appt. in 3 weeks and I'm going to talk with the pedi about it. Can anyone tell me if this sounds like it could be allergies? I don't have any in my family (slight seasonal, but nothing serious). She has an aunt on dad's side who has a slew of allergies. What type of testing should I expect should we move forward with this theory? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you all so much!
Thanks Ladies. She is NOT in daycare at all and is rarely with a sitter. She is with her dad on the days that I work...so she's not exposed to the whole daycare scene. I have tried a humidifier but haven't used one all summer since it's so humid...but I've got a warm mist one. I'm going tomorrow to get a cool mist one w/ vaporizor. I have discussed this with her dad and he's going to come with me to her 2 year check up in Oct. and we're going to ask her pedi about it. I just learned that asthma runs in his family as well. I'm hoping that we will find a cause to all of this. I appreciate all of the feedback.
Many have similar situations....same with my son. The peds plan was...between one visit and the next:
-teaspoon of honey when cough persists
-Zyrtec allergy meds
-switch to Singulair allergy/asthma meds
That's where we're at now...two week sample trial of Singulair. Be persistent at the doctors.
Her immune system is very weak. Bring her to a chiropractor... it will help her guaranteed and she will not need any medication.
maybe you should seriously consider getting a second opinion, u know your child better than anyone else. and if its bothering u that much i would definately get a second opinion.
When my daughter was sick all the time as an infant, her pedi told me that, on average, that the first year they're out and about in the world (daycare, kindergarten, etc) kids get 10 colds that last 10 days each. So it sounds, unfortunately, that you're on the high end of that, but that it's nothing serious. My son also gets the sniffles that turn into a cough (he has asthma, though, so we have to be a little more careful about the cough). You can try a tablespoon of honey to soothe the throat for coughing fits (actually works incredibly well, to my surprise). If she's otherwise acting fine and happy, I'd just roll with it for a while and see if it improves with time. Her little immune system is just building itself up.
Try some benedryl for a couple of days (may make or sleepy)or ask your doctor about zyrtec and if if clears up then I would think it was allergies. Is she in Daycare? This could just be colds, but 6 months?? That seems like a long time unless she is just super sensitive. My husband has been sick with a cold for 4 weeks and is just now going to take some antibiotics. Have you tried a humidifier in her room? She could just be the type of child that stays sick for a long time. When I was small I think I lived with a humidifier in my room and I also had to get tubes in my ears. You could take her to an ear, nose and throat doctor to see if there are any more problems that the pediatrician can't see. She shouldn't be sick for 6 months straight. Poor thing. :( Best wishes and good luck!!
That's what march thru sept? sounds like allergies to me if not you and her dad's animals to something outdoors. Ask for a referral to an allergist so she can get tested. Our youngest has been on zyrtec from march thru oct starting at right before he turned 1. My oldest is only allergic to tree pollen and only needs to take something in early spring. It really helps to know exactly what they are allergic to. They can do a blood test or a skin test. The skin test is done on the back and my 7 yr old says it doesn't hurt (had it done in july) and my 2 year old sat there and didn't say boo when they stuck his back. After they do the sticks you wait about 15 minutes can't touch the back during this time. They come back and check it then wipe down their back and put some cream on to help w/ the itching.
Hi A.,
It sounds like allergies to me. The body produces mucus to try to sweep something away. My guess would be food allergies/intolerances since she has it pretty much all of the time. Food problems don't always show up on allergy tests though. I would recommend allergy testing though to see what does show up.
Processed foods are made with lots of allergens. Major allergens are non-human milk, corn, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts(off the top of my head). Wheat and milk seem to have the highest incidence or problems that I've seen. If peanuts are the problem, you can get sunbutter made from sunflower seeds. I can't eat any grains so I use flax meal and almond meal for pancakes and cake.
Here's a link to recipes that may be helpful:
http://paleofood.com/
Good luck,
: ) Maureen
Good advise for anyone with cold symptoms is to stay away from refined sugar products and cold drinks. Fresh Ginger is one of the best things for a cold with cough. Grate it and add it to her hot meals. Stay away from all the over-the-counter meds. They only prolong things. Look to give her plenty of hot soups....home made with fresh vegies and "don't forget" a little freshly ground ginger. A humidifier will also help.
If it consists...see a Naturopathic doctor in your area. You can google one. It would be the best thing you will ever do for her.
Good luck to you and best of health to you all.
S.
Hi A.,
This sounds much like what we have experienced with our daughter. Multiple colds that progress into hacking coughs that won't go away and last for weeks. It is just awful to hear her coughing all night.
I got the same run around from my pediatrician's office...old kids get sick alot blah, blah. We finally got a referal for a pediatric pulminologist who diagnosed her with infantile asthma triggered by colds.
She was put on some inhalation medicine which really helped and we were eventually able to switch her to singular. She still gets coughs but now much less frequently.
Be a bit more pushy with your doc and see if you can get an asthma work up and rule out any other problems.
It is awful and frustrating, hang in there!
I had a similar situation when my daughter was real young. Her's was just a persistent cough that seemed to revolve around her sleep time. The doctors didn't seem to worry, but I did. In fact, it bothered me a great deal that they didn't acknowledge my concerns. We found that by getting rid of environmental chemicals, such as what we clean with, it made a huge difference. Also, I began using tea tree oil & rubbing it into her chest. It's a natural oil that penetrates deep to heal. I've also added a few drops of it into the vaporizer when she struggles & it helps to purify the air from any airborn viruses. I picked up a booklet at a local health food store called 101 uses for tea tree oil & it has great ways to use this safely & effectively! Let me know if you are interested in other ways that I've used it...I think I've done all 101 of them! :-) Good luck & best wishes for your daughter's improved health! You are right about quality time making up for material things in this life! Healthy kids certainly make for happy moms!
have you ever thought about getting her tested for Cystic fibrosis? you can rule it out by getting a sweat test done on her.
Both of my kids have had runny noses, stuffy noses, cough, and ear infections from time to time since they were born. They are now 6 and 8 and still have the same old problems. We have 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 2 pigs. After several doctors giving them meds after meds and doping them up all the time-I finally took them to the Oklahoma Asthma and Allergy Clinic. They have 4 different locations in the city. We have been seeing Dr. Atkinson. He is the best dr. we have EVER seen. And he is soooo awesome with my kids. And of course for the first time-they are geting better. He ran a couple of test on them and put both on allergy shots and some allergy meds and they are finally gettng better. copied locations for ya
###-###-####
____@____.com
Meridian Medical Tower
13321 N. Meridian, Suite 100
Oklahoma City, OK 73107
Norman Physician's Building
950 N. Porter, Suite 100
Norman, OK 73071
Edmond at Sycamore Square
120 N. Bryant, Suite A4
Edmond, OK 73034
750 N.E. 13th
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
I would definitely ask questions about allergies. If you have any record of the onset and duration of "colds", I would bring that along to her physical.
Also, what is her daycare situation when you are working? Our son was in daycare full-time from about 3 months old to 2 or 3 years old. He got sick so often, he barely finished one cold when another one began. It turned out he had a perpetual supply of fluid in his ears that never really cleared up. At one, he had tubes put in both ears and at 2 or 3, I went part-time so he was only in childcare 2-3 days a week. Both helped immensely.
We never discovered any allergy link but our son had asthma, triggered only by bad colds. Now our son is 12 and I suspect he had allergies that we never identified. He consistently had eczema and a stuffy nose which often point to allergies.
Good luck and track your daughter's bouts with colds. You might find some answers.
I would get a second opinion or make sure that your doctor really listens to you. My son was always coughing & it turned out to be asthma. He also has allergies. It's gotten better as he's gotten older, but he takes Claritin daily & asthma meds when things get worse. It's not really anything I had experience with, but coughing can be asthma related. Good luck.
Did your daughter ever have gastric reflux? It's just a shot in the dark on my part, but all you have to do is reflux a couple times a week, and it causes havoc with your nose and throat. With my daughter, it caused chronic sinus infections and, at times, the reddest throat they had every seen. Once we started giving her prilosec, she was wonderful. Of course, allergies are also another possibility.
I have so many friends who went through this. One had a 1 year old who had a whole winter of 3 weeks sick/one week well. They did everything you are doing - mattress incline, agonizing over animals, and considering the testing. He had pneumonia-like symptoms and used a nebulizer constantly, but they worried about the chemicals/drugs he was inhaling every time. The mom's allergist took one look at the kid and said, "He's going to be MINE for years." When someone gets the allergy "prick test" and is positive for 76 of the 80 things like one friend was, you know there is a lot going on. The mom was on biweekly shots and 2 prescription meds, and was still miserable. She did not want to put her child through this.
You (and your doctor) may not want to put a 2 year old through the testing at this point. From your description, it appears that your child either has infections or allergies - so there is either an immune system that needs boosting, or an imbalance that is causing an allergic response. Or a combination of both. From my professional experience, I am well aware that "eating well" is really almost impossible nowadays because our foods are either over-processed or grown in weakened soils with insufficient nutrients due to over-farming. Although most doctors take a "medication" approach because that is how they have been trained and because most of their sales visits are from pharmaceutical salespeople, the AMA long ago said that people need to supplement. However, most supplements are in pill form or are not really scientifically formulated for maximum absorption and proper balance. SO people generally waste their money and don't have particularly good results.
If you are interested in a nutritional supplement designed for and absolutely safe for children (even infants) and safe as a pre-natal even, I can help guide you to a happier daughter and a happier you. This is what my friend with the allergies did - found another way. Another friend has 3 daughters who had terrible allergies and asthma - now gone. As they have helped me, I am spreading the word to others. Doing something nutritionally with patented products (therefore unique, safe and effective) is a phenomenal alternative to drugs and endless testing. Happy to help!
If you haven't tried a cool mist humidifier in her room, then you may want to. My daughter and I have both been suffering from a cold with asthma for the past couple of weeks, and this really helps us get through the night (this and an icline with pillows helps keep the coughing down). Treatment for allergies with meds at this age is unlikely, but I would suggest that you see a specialist since the colds are persisting. Our allergist ran scratch tests to find her triggers so that we can at least minimize contact to keep her more comfortable. Animals may not be at the source of the trouble, but they could be bringing allergens to your daughter - tree pollens, grass, hay fever, etc. We thought for sure our daughter was allergic to dogs, but it was the tree pollens he was rolling in and then wagging in her face with his tail. Benadryl helps, but be careful not to dose too heavily or too often.
