Seeking Moms Advice and Experience on Children with Low Immune Systems.

Have you tried vitamins like vitamin d, vitamin c and magnesium. Dr. Sears has an immunity formula that I use for my son. Hope this helps.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Does your child see an immunologist regularly? Does he qualify for IVIG infusion? Day care is not a good fit fir a child with low IGg. You really need to find a better way. If nanny care is too high, can you look into a night shift job so someone is home during the day? There is no real way to boost an immune system with low IgG except to keep away from illness or receive IVIG infusions. Do some research in primary immune deficiencies on line to see treatment options. This will get better in most cases with age so you would only need a lifestyle change for a short duration depending on the reason for the low IgG. There is no real easy fix but even a sitter with 2 kids or 3 would be lower risk then day care. So sorry for your situation. I highly recommend the Jeffrey Modell foundation on line for support from other families dealing with PID. Best wishes for a healthy winter.

It takes approximately 2 years to train up an immune system.
My sister and I stayed home till kindergarten - and then we spent kindergarten and 1st grade sick as dogs - we got every single thing that was going around.
My son stayed home till my maternity leave was finished (12 weeks) and he got sick with everything that was going around for about 2 years.
After that 2 year mark, he (and we) only got maybe one or two colds a year.
You are half way there.
In one more year he should be fine and the frequency should drop off quite a bit.

My son has low immunity because he was born premature.
The first year I kept him home with a nanny. He still got a viral illness as the nanny had kids who went to school, so he got it from her inspite of being very careful. She had given it to him even before she had any symptoms of being ill :( Asking the nanny not to come whenever there is something contagious going on in her house did not work out as her kids were regularly coming down with something or the other.
The 2nd year I sent him to daycare, but once winter began he was down with constants colds, fever n ear infections. I always took days off, kept him home and sent him back once he felt better. But not all parents do it, he would be at daycare for couple days and down with something again. All kids have runny nose and they are allowed to come to daycare unless they have fever. I was telling my colleague how I am finding it difficult to take time off so often and here s the suggestion I got - Give him fever medicine that would last 6-8 hrs , he wont show any temp at daycare, so they will keep him and you can come to work! I was shocked and thought so many parents might be doing this when they are unable to stay home.
The 3rd year I have been home with him. My husband supported my decision, so working great for us. I still take him out everywhere, he plays with friends who go to daycare but its easy on M. because leaving him at daycare knowing about the illnesses going on around there(they would put it up on the bulletin) would break my heart.

Suggestion for you - put him in a Home daycare if you have to work . He might still fall sick but definitely not as much. Pneumonia twice when he has severe asthma is terrible.

Oh my - there is SO MUCH you can do easily to boost the immune system. Two of my friends had kids like yours - 2 kids with terrible asthma (nebulizers & inhalers), 1 with chronic ear infections (almost had to have tubes put in), and one with pneumonia-like symptoms for a year in a 1 year old (nebulizer, sick for 3 weeks and well for 1, and so on). Kids all got better within 3 months. Happy to help you - you don't have to be guilt-tripped into staying home. Even an at-home child can get sick so you can certainly take steps to have a healthy kid. Message me and we can connect - perhaps you'd like to talk to these moms directly.

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Oh my - there is SO MUCH you can do easily to boost the immune system. Two of my friends had kids like yours - 2 kids with terrible asthma (nebulizers & inhalers), 1 with chronic ear infections (almost had to have tubes put in), and one with pneumonia-like symptoms for a year in a 1 year old (nebulizer, sick for 3 weeks and well for 1, and so on). Kids all got better within 3 months. Happy to help you - you don't have to be guilt-tripped into staying home. Even an at-home child can get sick so you can certainly take steps to have a healthy kid. Message me and we can connect - perhaps you'd like to talk to these moms directly.

you can probably find a small home day care to watch him. someone that only has 6 kids to care for.. he will be exposed to less germs.. but it will be cheaper than a nanny.

Gosh, that's hard and I'm sorry. My son has the same problem, he must have had 4 bouts of severe bronchitis and pneumonia last year, he has epilepsy and he had mono which shot his immune system. It has never fully recovered, but now he is 10 and in school, there is not so many germs. daycare is the pits, I hate having to send my 4 year old, and look at the coughing streaming kids there. I have a friend who watches kids in her home for 25 a day, she watches about 7 kids. Im sure if you ask around there will be someone similar in your area

What is the reason his IgG is low (inherited condition, side effect of medication, etc.)?

Does he get IgG infusions? If not, is this an option for him? Do you supplement with anything (vitamin C & D, fish oil, echinacea, etc.)? I realize that low IgG isn't the same as when an otherwise healthy child's immune system temporarily runs low, but I would think that the kinds of things that support overall health and immunity would benefit your child. There is a supplement called Immunllin that I've heard of but haven't used. That might be something to look into.

When my kids were chronically catching every virus going around when they were babies in daycare my mom, who is the queen of natural health, used to pump them full of vitamins, fish oil, echinacea and other supplements and it did make a pretty dramatic difference for us. You may want to check with a naturopath (many chiropractors treat with nutritional supplements) for some ideas. Run it by your regular doctor to make sure that anything you give him is safe and doesn't interfere with other medications he's taking. There's also a supplement called Juice Plus that you can google that does some pretty amazing things for overall health.

I would see if there are any stay at home moms in your neighborhood that are willing to keep your son to earn a little extra money. Thats really the only suggestion i have for you. While my daughter has not had a low immune system in a couple years now i choose to keep both of my children at an in home daycare where they are exposed to fewer children and therefore fewer illnesses, this may be something else for you to look in to. Here is texas the state website keeps a list of in home providers who are listed or registered with the state (so they are regulated by the state laws) i am sure NY has something similar.

Saw your other post about chiropractic. I've heard with asthma, it is a multi-pronged approach--things like, get rid of dust triggers (curtains, carpeting, launder throw rugs frequently, etc). switch to all natural, non-toxic cleaners, don't use air fresheners or candles in the house. Also, try to feed him whole, natural foods as much as possible, which will help his immune system. Give hi a good probiotic everyday--my pediatrician said this is the single best thing I can do to boost my kids' immune systems (that and diet). My kids take one that's chewable, and I buy it from iherb.com--it is not expensive. Astragalus is another supplement that helps the immune system--no side effects, my kids take it every day--a dropper full in some juice. Ditch milk, kids don't need it and it causes lots of problems, linked with respiratory issues, recurring sinus and ear infections, etc. If you want more tips on boosting his immune system, google "Amara wellness." I don't know her personally, and I don't get any $ for recommending her, but she is a wellness coach, and has had some free teleseminars on wellness and immunity for kids and families--I learned a lot, for example, that fermented foods boost immunity (kefir, sauerkraut, sourdough, even pickles). Good luck, I hope some of this info helps.