Okay mom's, I am starting to feel like my daughter is sick all of the time. We are so good (a little OCD) about washing hands, not touching certain things in public etc... for instance, my kids already use toilet paper to flush a toilet, use their elbows to open a public restroom etc.. I mean they still wash their hands but it is just those extras that I like to do. Anyway, my 5yo. daughter is in kindergarten, she already has tons of food allergies etc.. to deal with and she is usually pretty prone to get sick. She also has severe eczema which results in open wounds at times which again makes her prone to get sick (staph) etc... Anyway, when school let out for Christmas break, she got sick and spent the first part of break (which fell at Christmas) with pnuemonia! ugh, it broke my heart to see her so sick. Well, now...she is home once again with the flu. She got sick Saturday morning (hit her like a ton of bricks) - she had vomiting all day Saturday. On Sunday, it was diariea (sp?). Monday, she still had diariea and all of these days, she kept a 102' fever. Anyway, yesterday and today she is still home from school because she is still not feeling well (no fever, no diariea, no vomiting). She is eating a little but you can just see how tired she is in her face. She is napping alot and really not getting off the couch (which is really unlike her). She is asking when she can go back to school which I think is a good sign but I am not sure if I should send her. She is obviously still really congested but it is her sleeping that has me concerned and wondering if I should be sending her to school. Well, she did start fighting with her sister again which is probably a sign that she is on the road to recovery (lol) but just wanted some thoughts out there on this. Oh, and...just found out there are 7 kids out in her class with the flu! SERIOUSLY....I cannot believe half of the class is out! I called the Dr. and they said "it is going around...it needs to take it's course" I don't want my daughter to keep getting sick! What else can I do? Is this somewhat normal? I send her to school with wipes to use (cannot use pump sanitizer due to high alcohol content-burns her hands) AND I have sent "soft soap" pumps for her to use in lieu of the school soap since I do not know what kind it is. Should I contact her teacher to make sure she is washing her hands as much as the other kids? To see what their washing habits are? If I do this will the teacher think I am nuts? Any thoughts are appreciated here...
I appreciate the advice and opinions so far! Keep 'em coming....I know she is not the only one out there sick but it just makes me sad when she gets sick like this. To answer a few questions and to clarify a few things....as for the flu shot - this was the 1st year EVER that she received it and she has not received her booster yet (in order to make it effective) since she has been sick. She has never been able to receive the flu shot since there are egg proteins in it which she is highly allergic to. The Dr.'s recommended us to stay clear of it until now. I have taught and treated both daughters the same (my youngest is 3 1/2 yrs) as far as washing is concerned but my youngest is really never sick. I assume it is because she is still at home with me. I am sure her day will come. To answer the questions of her eczema....this is something we have dealt with for 5yrs...we ofcourse have this as much under control as we can. I think kids are way too over medicated and over diagnosed these days but she is on her Zyrtec for allergies and Singulair for asthma. We have done EVERYTHING for our daughter plus some. We see dermatologists, allergy/asthma specialist etc.. She still has her outbreaks here and there which is what makes her more likely to get staph though she has not had staph for a long time. I guess it is hard to understand...my daughter is allergic to all dairy, peanuts, shell fish, corn, egg, oat...the list goes on. She can barely have candy without having a breakout since things like this are produced in facilities that contain peanuts, milk etc... She has a pretty limited diet but we do make sure she gets her vitamins every morning. Anyway, I really appreciate your comments....it is just frustrating to me not knowing if they are cleaning in the classroom, washing enough etc... ugh :( Thanks ladies...
Did she get a flu shot? Those are little proactive steps that you could take in the future. Also give her probiotics to help strenghten her immune system. Good luck!
A.,
I really sympathize with you! My older two were never that sickly...maybe a cold here and there. However my third child (daughter) seems to catch everything! And my youngest is the same. This fall has been absolutely awful for us. The minute they get over something, they seem to catch another virus.
I would let your daughter go to school for a couple of hours, and pick her up, increasing the time each day. Just ease her back into the full day routine. The flu really wipes their energy level out. Give her some time, and hopefully she will feel better. Good luck!
Honestly, some kids just get stuff more than others. My daughter was in daycare when she was 2, I was NOT vigilant about hand washing, etc. (we were sanitary, but not over the top) and she never got sick. My son, whom I've stayed home with since birth, is in the dr office all the time, catches everything that goes around.
Some suggestions: Find a good supplement. A friend had good luck simply "spiking" her kids milk with pediasure.
If you can't have dairy, have you tried goat's milk? I had alaundry list of allergies as a child, and all went away when I was switched to goat's milk. Something about milk protein is linked to other allergies, not just a milk allergy. The goat's milk protein is easier for kids' bodies to process, so it's better. A probiotic might also be a good idea.
My kids take Mannabears and Glycobears from the Mannatech line of supplements. Check them out at www.mannatech.com. There's a way to click on the product information and read the list of ingredients. I chose this supplement over others because the ingredients are food (broccoli, kale, papaya, etc.).
Hang in there!
Unfortunately, children who were not really exposed when they were younger get sicker when they get older~ and it usually is worse the older they get. I would work on making sure she takes vitamins, eats well, stays hydrated, and even making sure exercise is part of her routine. I have a six year old in first grade and I can totally relate to the illness spreading problem~ I also have a 21 month old who gets EACH and EVERY THING that is going around. I just try to make sure that she gets her vaccinations, gets the flu shots, eats well, rests....
It is almost impossible to prevent illness, but making sure she knows to wash her hands as often as she can at school, keep her hands out of her mouth and away from her face.
Best of luck with everything! Keep us posted!
T.
A., sounds like you've been doing alot of answering questions and to be honest I did not read all the other responses to see if mine could be a duplicate....Let me start off by saying that my 4yo dt too has food allergies, actually food intolerances (eggs, milk, and wheat are her higher categories as well as a much lower intolerance to corn, soy and strawberries). From birth til diagnosis at age 3.5, this girl was constantly sick. Runny noses all the time, vomiting, diaareah, tireness, just wanted to lay on the couch and not kicking her naps. But since diagnosis she's not been sick once. Now mind you, I have not taken her off any of the foods that were in her lower categories and have allowed her to have some items with wheat and on special occasions she gets stuff that has milk and eggs. So I get the food allergy thing.
So my question would be hows your families meals. In your mind are they "healthy". I have several friends that thier kids do not have any food allergies but yet they are constantly sick. I hear too often that one family is keeping another child home bc he/she's sick. And the one thing that all these friends have in common is the diet that they eat. None of them will eat healthy foods. I'm not saying at all that you do this, but none of the kids will eat the meals that their parents cook for them. One family just does not cook at all bc she's tired of the kids saying that they don't want to eat it. They basically just eat all processed foods but they do have fruits. The kids get too picky for most parents and its enough for most moms to just want to throw in the towel. I get it.
I eat lots of meals prepared with garlic. I say at least 5-6 meals a week. I am a big believer that garlic can help you build up your immune system. Now my hb does not eat a lot of meals with us, only 1 per week. But my kids and I have not been sick in a very very long time, (watch I write that and they will get sick this weekend). But just a thought, I don't know how much you believe in the healing power of garlic but we do and we think it works. Good luck, A.
Need to think about strengthening her immune system....check out Donna Gates' Body Ecology website and Dr. Mercola's Total Health Book....see his site www.mercola.com.
My kids had a big improvement when I simply added some Vitamin C supplements, but there is of course more you can do with diet, etc. so that they don't get "whatever is going around" every time.
If she has never been in daycare and this is her first time being in a classroom setting, then you can probably expect a few more trips to the doctor. I have been going through somewhat the same issues. We have a 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 year old girls which we put in daycare back in August for the first time ever. The 2 1/2 has had 3 ear infections in 3 months and the other one hasn't been sick. The Pediatrician said that on average, a child is sick at least 8 times in a year which puts them in the dr. office often. She also told me our daughter was never really exposed to much while staying at home, so now that she's in daycare she will be exposed to 1000's of viruses, which of course will build her immunity.
As for the flu shot, I work in the medical field and it is not a guarantee you will not get the flu even with the vaccination. There is a mutated strain going around, so even vaccinated individuals are getting the flu but with less severe symptoms...recovering a lot quicker.
Good Luck
Hi, i have a little one who will be 5 in arpril and she always seeme to be sick since she was born. We discovered at 18 months after bloodwork and many visits to the doc that she was highly allergic to our cat (we no longer have it) and i now have her seeing an allergy/asthma specialist. she is on medication for her eczema which is wonderful as well as nose spray for allergies and her inhaler but she is "normal" again and plays soccer just like every other kid her age. if she gets the sniffles, her allergy doc sees her not the regular one. we have also done allergy testing on her so we know what she is allergic to and she takes zurtec for it. it might help to see a specialist and get the cream for the eczema which is a mix of an oitment and ucerine cream. kids are kids they dont' always remember to wash hands and such but when you get their sickness under control, they can just be kids. Good Luck...
Ok I am no doctor or scientist, but here are my thoughts for what they are worth . . . You might want to cut down on the washing and germ protection. Don't use antibacterial anything on her. Of course i use that stuff to clean the toilets and wipe down the kitchen sink, but a lot of professionals say that over cleaning and sterilization will cause infection because the bacteria that lives on our skin and in our bodies all the time that are meant to protect us and fight off other bad bacteria are destroyed. Bacteria that cause sickness can easily become resistant to the antibacterial soaps and all of the natural defenses have been destroyed.
My mom was not a cleaner and neither am I. i am hardly ever sick and neither are my kids (note my kids are not of my DNA). They had really bad allergies and we used to give them their prescription meds every four hours on the nose. It wasn't working, so we cut way way back and their allergies are practically gone. Their bodies have had the opportunity to fight on their own and develop resistance.
Just some thoughts. If nothing else I would cut out any antibacterial products on her skin. Good basic germ prevention is a must of course, but washing with warm water and regular soap after going to the bathroom and before meals should do the job.
My 3 y/o son was sick all the time. He has allergies to eggs, soy, beef and chocolate. He also suffered from severe constipation. The pedi GI is working with us to clear up the constipation issue and one day we saw him my son had ANOTHER cold. He asked if our son got sick a lot and I said yes. He give us a sample of Align, which has 'good' bacteria (the stuff you find in yogurt). There is a relationship between immune functions and your digestive system and it needs 'good' bacteria to work. In any case, since my son has been on it, he has gotten sick a lot less. I tried just to give him yogurt but he doesn't want to eat it everyday. The Align comes in a capsule which I sprinkle over applesauce, put in water, etc. My son doesn't seem to notice the taste. You can get Align at CVS, Walmart, Walgreens or online (aligngi.com). I believe that it has made a difference.
Good Luck!
the pediatrician tells me this is just normal. best you can do is perhaps work on strengthening her immune system; lots of fruits and veggies and a vitamin. Have you thought about seeing a dermatologist about the excema? I know how you feel; I had a daughter who was sick the first 5 months of 2007; turned out she had to get her tonsils out and she has been much better since then. good luck and take care. oh, I would probably let her rest all day today and if she has not had a fever in 24 hours consider sending her back, but go with your intuition, it's always best.
First of all-I would reccomend that you find a new doctor. Anyone who knows you and knows that she is sick all the time-will listen to you when she gets that sick.
Next-I understand your frustration. I too have kids with severe allergies and when they started school from kinder through 2nd grade they both took all 17 allowed days due to illness. It seems once they hit the middle of second grade it got better. So I suspect that is when the kids that are around her-got better at washing their hands. Plus- I always send a huge container of hand sanitizer with school supplies for the teachers. It seems to have helped a lot.
hope it helps.
They are now 9 and 10 1/2 and doing well.
I think you should look into more preventative measure since you have the cleanliness part down. It is true what some have said that she will get sick a lot if this is her first year in a class setting because she is being exposed to germs that she wasn't around at home.
I would look into getting some good suppliments and herbs into her body to prevent colds. I know they have echinacea for kids now in liquid form. I use trilight herbs for my kids and they work well. You can find them online. I would give her a dose of echinacea every day during cold and flu season. It will help build up her immunity.
