My 3 yr old and 4 yr old go to preschool 4 days a week. My 4 yr old has recently been diagnosed with cold induced asthma so it takes him so much longer to get over the common cold. Mean while my 3 yr old seems to catch colds and get over them quickly. They have been sick since January off and on with maybe three days they have not been sick.
The preschool keeps calling to have me pick them up. I have kept them out on questionable days I thought they were sick. I throw a little bleach in the dish water, clorox bleach wife light switches, remote, door knobs ect. When we go to the store I make sure to attempt to wipe cart, and have the kiddos use anti-disinfectant foam to possible attack any common cold lurking on items they might touch. Ok I sound like a germ freak, I reallly am not, I am just tired of my babies being sick. I have been giving them Flinstones with Immune boaster. The kids know to eat their veggies to help them stay healthy. Love oranges. They wash their hands when they enter the preschool, and I attempt to have them wash their hands before and after leaving nursery at church. Any more suggestions momma's?
Its the daycare/preschool winter. It will be better next year. Nothing you are doing wrong they are just going to pick up everything from other kids at school
It sounds like they are picking up the germs from preschool. If they touch something germy at preschool and they wipe their nose with their hand, touch their face, put their hands in their mouth, etc. that would probably do it. The preschool sends the kids home because of a cold? I think that as long as there is no fever and they can breathe well (no asthma problems) then they should be at school. Each year they they get sick less often....hang in there!
and next year I bet not one will get sick....little ones will have years like this...hang in there
sounds like you are doing great
Have you seen an ashtma/allergy specialist? There are preventative measures, my MIL and my nephew have the same, my son had an immune disease and they gave preventative care for this and we successfully went thru day care during cold season the following year w/out anything major. I would ask your pedi for a referral.
I would quit with the bleach, it could be making it worse. Try a steam cleaner. We have asthma sufferers at our house and the steam cleaner was a godsend! It cleans and disinfects using water, no chemicals.
Try Emergen-C for kids. Extra vitamin C is important for colds. They even make it with immune boosters!
does the preschool have the kids wash their hands before snack? lots of germs floating around there
Yes, I sell vitamins and natural products and I can tell you not all vitamins are the same. I could suggest vitamins for you. Supplements can build immunity.
Also, when you use bleach there are toxins your kids are breathing in. Could actually contribute to asthma. Because cleaners are not monitored it is thought by some that is the reason asthma is on the rise. I'd be curious to know what you clean with and how often. If I were you I'd get rid of the bleach for sure.
Once in school, kids get sick often in the beginning. Then it should ease up.
A friend of mine, worked at a school. For 1 whole year in the beginning, she'd get sick a lot. Which she does not usually. Then after that, per her idea of it, she said her body got used to the germs there, and she did not get sick or as often after than. She said she probably built up an immunity to the place.
I have Asthma, and get it worse when sick. Like your son.
I steer clear of anyone when they are sick. If possible.
It is really bad, if I get sick with a common cold. And yes, I even got Pneumonia before, because of getting a common cold which hit my lungs hard. Recovering is harder, per Asthma.
So be vigilant.
I hope the Preschool has good hygiene/cleaning habits?
The kids washing their hands.
But kids are just not careful anyway. They sneeze into the air, sneeze/cough into their hands, NOT elbows etc. They touch so many things, with their hands/boogers/mucus hands etc.
We went through the same thing when our kids were little and in school for the first time. They will get resistance to all these "bugs" and be stronger for it in the long run.
Now we have 2 parents at 2 different jobs and kids (13 and 10) in 2 different school buildings and this winter we seem to have lots of illnesses. Nothing serious, just lingering colds, lingering coughs, off and on nausea (thankfully without vomiting), extreme lethargy and some joint pains, all without fevers.
Hang in there, spring is on the way.
No matter how clean the premises is, germs are going to spread, especially in this season. Just keep cleaning, but remember too much antibacterial soap and bleach all over everything will end up killing the good bacteria that helps boost the immune system.Try a more natural cleaning supply.
What kind of symptoms are they having? If it's just snotty nose, sneezing, even coughing maybe it could be allergies? I thought my son was always sick until we put him on Claritin for allergies. Turned out he's allergic to dust so he really was "sick" all the time. We have an air purifier in his bedroom too... that's always something to consider even if it's not allergies. If their symptoms are more than that I would just keep up w/ the vitamins and disinfecting. It takes awhile for the vitamins to work. Also make sure you've changed toothbrushes and things like that... they harbor germs for a long time! Good luck! It will get better!
If this is the first year of preschool then they will probably have 1 winter like this and hopefully next year will be better. My oldest went to preschool last year and last winter was one cold after another, ear infections, pink eye, etc. I see the teachers cleaning daily and reminding the kids to wash hands. This winter was better. The only other difference was my kids (2 and 5) now take immunity plus gummy vitamins (about $5 in the grocery store). Cold season will be over soon. My only other thought is make sure they get enough sleep if you can. I carry hand sanitizer in my diaper bag or pocket when one of the kids is sick.
bleach is beast for killing germs. but it is NOT good for human creatures, especially asthmatic ones.
you're doing everything right, just to switch cleaning with baking soda and vinegar, at least anything with reach (and breathing proximity) to your kids.
khairete
S.
Luckily my preschool allows the kids to come with colds unless they have a fever or can't keep up, otherwise the director said they would have no students as it takes 2 weeks for them to recover. What I have found is that the first few years are bad until they are exposed and develop an immunity. Then when they get to grade school they don't get sick so much. I am not much of a germ freak. Now i encourage good hand washing and sanitation. But I figure exposure to some things will allow them to develop an immunity. Some times too much prevention can cause a problem.
My daughter had illness-induced asthma when she was little, getting sick time and again for about a year. I then was able to find a way to stay home for a year, and that year she caught only one cold that year and no asthma! She still gets sick more often than the rest of us, but not so much as that one awful year. It just took time for her to have the immunity she needed. She has also grown out of the asthma, and hasn't had it even once since that awful year. Hopefully this happens for your child too!
We stay sick with colds and allergies all winter every year. My kids age 1, 3, and 5 take zyrtec daily which helps a lot. My husband takes zyrtec and nasonex, and I take allegra and nasonex. My 5 year old daughter also uses nasonex nose spray. These things which we just started this cold/flu season have helped a ton, but we still get the occasional virus.
Kids really just have to catch things to build immunity (gain anitbodies). They don't have bad immune systems, they have IMMATURE immune systems. No vitamin supplements or probiotics I've ever tried have helped much. During the summer months we are completely fine and don't even take the allergy medications or nasal sprays.
I'm sorry you are going through this. I know how frustrating it is.
It's all very normal. The best thing you can do is find a private in home provider that is able to be just a bit more flexible with you. Only fevers over 101 or repeated vomiting a long with some other things that fall way outside of the standard viruses need to be reasons for them to stay home. They are building immunity by fighting these germs. You can't take any real shortcuts.
ibuprofen keeps the imflammation down which keeps coughing down and the mucus down too. It helps my son get over his colds faster. Lots of sleep.
quit bleaching things that may be triggering his asthma it triggers mine bad only use vinegar and bakingsoda to clean with he may be chemical induced also. i use all free and clear detergent no dryer sheets. buy him something to put over his mouth when he goes out in the cold. i use one of them things that is designed for the ears and wear it over my mouth and nose. it warms the air going in. give him potassium alot. my doc perscribed potassuim vitamins for me when my asthma was flaired up real bad. also get a vacumn that is hypoallergenic. I use scent free soap or body wash. vinegar is a disenfectant and wont trigger his asthma. you mean well and i did the same thing till I learned all of this but the bleach is probably making him worse. i was triggering my own asthma and not knowing it. go to aboutasthma.com and start watching the post you will learn alot
FYI: There is a very nasty, nasty, nasty bug going around right now, and just when you think they're getting better, bam, they get worse. My little boy has been miserable for 3 weeks now, as have most of the other kids at school. They keep reinfecting each other it's awful. I teach at this school and I have seen this thing going on for ever now. It's a nasty one and takes FOREVER to get over. We have some kids who've missed close to 2 weeks of school because of it, including my own.
Oh, my, this is SO normal. Children should share their toys the way they share their germs! And this time of the year seems to be a prime time for passing bugs around. I can remember times, when my children were in school (they're grown now), when there were literally as many sick-and-at-home students as there were healthy-and-in-school ones. The class size was wonderful, but it was not really a good situation.
The best you may be able to do right now is to hang on and try to keep up. It's a nuisance, I know, but keep in close contact with your doctor's office, do all the good healthy things, and pray for spring to come!
I so feel your pain and frustration. I have three little girls and they have been sick, in rotation, since Christmas. Colds, ear infections, pneumonia, stomach virus - everything. Like you, I have attacked my house as though there was something lurking in it making my kids sick. Every doctor has just said it's just bad luck. It's been a particularly bad season. Every time I get them well and send them back to school, they're sick again in a few days. One suggestion made by the doctor was not to let them drink from a communal drinking fountain at school. Send them a bottle of water. This, too, shall pass. Hang tough, Mom.
Little kids just tend to get sick especially at preschool. I go and get probiotics from the health food store and my son hardly ever gets sick. When he does it is scaled down to almost nothing. I also take probiotics and even though I work on a school bus I hardly ever get sick. The probiotics for the toddlers are chewable and the ones that I get Primadophilus Original and they come in orange and cherry.
Its not you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have three and for the last month it has been one thing after another...Part of the problem is the fact that at their preschool other parents are sending their kids in sick and masking their symptoms with medication so they don't have to miss work....That and depending the preschool may not be santizing thier area like they should...Hang in there...this is the first winter that all three of mine have been hit hard....!
The virus can be airborne and they're probably picking it up from preschool or anywhere else that there are people.
Keep on with washing everything.
My eldest daughter suffers from cold induced asthma, I know how frustrating it can be. It seems to be something she is growing out of. We've not had to use her inhaler, nebulizer or go to the Doctor this cold season. We were there so much last season. Oh she's now 7.
R.
All I can tell you is that it seems to get better over time. Hang in there.
I went in to my son's K class to help O. day and was horrified to see that the teacher had placed the garbage can right next to my son's chair! He was using, like 3 trillion Kleenex every day. It seemed like he was snotty from Sept-March that year and if he had stayed home everyday he had a runny nose, he would have NEVER been in school!
You are not doing anything wrong, your children are just being exposed to a whole host of new bugs and viruses. It is very common for children to catch everything that every other child has the first few years that they are in either day care or school. Think of it this way, better preschool then elementary school. They will build of an immunity to the things they are exposed too and be fine. Don't over due the antibacterial stuff because it can actually be harmful. Pediatricians offices start getting busy about two weeks after school resumes from summer & winter breaks, because that's about how long it takes for kids to pass it around.
When my mom was in her late 40's she started working at a daycare center and for the first year she caught every bug the kids had.
I agree with jennifer U. last year, we had a winter like this. my daughter and I were both sick almost constantly. this year, so far has not been bad. each a mild cold, and actually, today, she threw up, but we have made it most of the winter...hang in there, spring is coming!
