Children Seem to Be Sick All the Time

Hi N.,
Give them MannaBears, Fruits and Veggies with Ambrotose that supports their immune system. Great stuff, so many families in the area are on them and have not had cold or the ful this season. We all need to take supplements, we don't get it in our food anymore. You being in the health care system can understand the science behind it. email me back and I will tell you where to get them. P. RN

Last year, my kids were sick with something every 3 weeks or so, from September through about March. It was SO frustrating. My son, in particular, would start with a runny nose, then since he doesn't blow his nose well, it would drain into his throat and chesst and become a nasty cough with bad chest congestion/bronchitis. An antibiotic would wipe it out, then a week later it was back again.
This year, when it started in September, I asked the doctor if it was possible that he had allergies and when his nose would get stuffy and he couldn't blow it out, well...you get the picture. So, he referred us to an allergist. I had him tested for seasonal allergies and we found that he is allergic to ragweed and dust mites. I've been vacuuming a bit more and changing sheets more frequently. He was put on allergy medication too. We haven't had any problems with it this year at all since then! Sadly, he wasn't able to dodge the annoying fever virus that went around...got that twice. But that isn't bad compared to last year!
Anyway, the point is...perhaps have your kids checked for allergies.
Good luck!

N.,

I feel for you! Unfortunately, I think your kids are simply at the prime age for catching everything. I thought the same thing when my first child was in daycare. It seemed like she caught any and every virus! My pediatrician assured me that it's all just part of building up their immune systems.

When I asked her if maybe I should stay-at-home since my child seemed to be sick all the time anyway, she said no. That either they get it at daycare now, or when they go to school at 4-5-6.

I too have my kids wash hands all the time, use hand sanitizers, etc. I do think it helps to have them wash their hands in the car, as soon as they get in their car seats, before their snacks. I think this has significantly helped cut down on bringing the germs home.

Lately when one kid gets sick I go crazy cleaning and trying to keep their germs confined - washing clothes, sheets, dishes, etc. immediately after use. I also found that when one kid is sick, I put a clothespin on that towel so NO ONE else uses it, even to dry hands. We "blow" kisses to each other. This has really helped keep everyone else well, even when one person get sick. (OK I confess, I did break down and buy the Clorox wipes the last bout of perforate ear drum and strep. I was determined to not spread it around.)

The only other thing I can suggest is trying to teach your 5 year old good hygine manners at school. As much as you keep him and your house clean, if he's getting coughed on or sharing toys with sick kids at day care/school there's not much you can do. I have worked hard to teach my older child that the sick kids at school can make you sick. So be a good friend and offer them tissues or to go wash your hands with them at school. Please don't share toys, food, etc. with them. After this last round of illnesses, I think she finally "got it" and understands that not keeping herself "clean" at school can affect her later.

Best of luck. I know it's hard and frustrating dealing will all the illnesses...especially when they spread in the family. Just know that everyone else is in the same boat.

BTW- my pediatrician said the multivitamins aren't going to fight off a virus or bacteria. It's just their immature immune systems getting overloaded. Just do your best to keep them home if they are sick, so you don't spread it around to everyone else. (I know, easier said than done. I feel like all winter I never walked into the school without seeing 1/2 the kids with runny noses or coughing!)

Best of luck!

Sara

N.,

I am so sorry to hear about our children's sickness. I know, as a mom, that can be so discouraging.

I am a stay at home mom that teaches moms how to build to their children's immune systems. I have received countless calls the past few winters from moms who rejoice that their children are well, and that they no longer frequent the pediatrican's office and drugstore.

Please e-mail me privately if you are intereted in more details.

T.
Mom of four little ones and one on the way

N.,
It has been a very rough winter with illness. One thing I can share with you is that you do need to strenghten their immune systems. Your best and most effective way is to feed them a diet full of fruits and veggies. Now since you work full time, and I know that meal time probably is not the best time of the day for you, and if your kids are like most, that can be a hassle. You should consider supplementation. I highly recommend Juice Plus which consists of raw fruits and veggies and a few whole grains. Clinical evidence based research is behind this concept and published in peer reviewed medical journals. It gets absorbed into the bloodstream. I would not recommend store multivitamins. Why give your child isolated, syntentic, fragmented vitamins when all we should be giving them is whole food. It has helped my family achieve better health. There is a childrens health study with Juice Plus and on that advisory committee is Dr. William Sears, MD FRCP (pediatricain). Check out the website below for more details. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Hope this was helpful for you.
N. - Nutrition Naturally
www.jp4ahealthieryou.com

If your kids illnesses doesn't fade with the cold weather I would recommend a call to an ENT (Ear, nose and throat specialist) and an allergist. Both this winter and last winter have been terrible for my 2 boys. I thought it would end with the cold weather but it hasn't. My son who is 23 months has chronic bronchitus, coughs and ear infections. My almost 4 yr. old has swollen and sore throats, and coughs. I give them vitmins and probiotics from a health food store and feel they gat plenty of fruits and veggies. The ENT wants to take out my 4 yr olds tonils and adnoids because they are now so enlarged. We are going to the allergist next week to see if all of their problems are allergy related.
Good luck, I know how helpless it can feel when your little ones are so sick all the time.

I think it was this winter. My daughter who very rarely gets sick, was sick quite often this winter also with a lot of flu and colds and she even got a flu shot. She is in preschool and there were children out all the time. Even my youngest daughter who was only 3 months already had an ear infection. I give her vitamins every day and that didn't seem to help. I have heard good things about Pediasure. She seems to be ok now so hopefully it was just the winter that we had.

while it depends on your situation, i agree that your 5yo might be at that tender age of building his immune system. all my daughters stayed at home while i worked so they did not get sick at a very young age. my oldest never had an earache or cold until she started school at 3. at that point every other week she was sick. i thought i was going to lose my mind. (one exception was rotovirus at 7mths which was very scary. she contracted this after we took a wiggleworms class!) in any case, this year was her second year at school, and far better than her first. she's probably had only about 3 colds worthy of a day home from school. unfortunately/fortunately my 3yo and 6mth have contracted it, (no matter how much you try to keep the others from getting sick, inevitably the younger ones will contract something), but i hope that they will have stronger immunue systems by the time they start school. good luck!

Hi N.,

I feel for you, it is heart breaking when your kids are sick! There is so much to learn on how to keep our families healthy and so much mis-information it's hard to know what to do. You mentioned being a big cleaner--that might be part of the problem as so many of household products are very toxic, and actually supress the immune system (there are non-toxic alternatives that work and are safe).

I have been researching this for many years and have lots of info. to share--more than can be listed here. Just respond to this email if you are interested and we can connect with our personal emails where I can send stored info. much easier.

Here for you:)~J.

I work for a Wellness company. We have the over 350 fantastic non toxic, naturally derived products that you use in your home everyday. It is a proven fact that chemicals used in our lives effect allergies, ezcema rashes etc. Its a wonderful way to "goGreen" quickly and you can shop from home and save money. The average family saves over $600.00 per year! Our products are scientifically proven to eleminate many of the issues you talked about and work better than store bought. I would love to introduce you to a safer and healthier life style. It wont take much of your time. Please call me at ###-###-#### and ask for R.

I would love to know about this, too! My 2 year old has been sick all winter--it makes me worried. Please, if anyone has advice, let us know :)

My 5 year old son does not get sick as he use to but I do fill him up with multivitamins and I also give him pediasure because he is not a big eater. That at least gives him all his nutrients and he likes it. He thinks it's milkshake.

Liquid echinacea is amazing for building up the immune system. A dose each day for 2 weeks then 1 week off & keep repeating as long as needed.

I can only offer encouragement because I am sure you know all of the right things to do to protect them from as many germs as possible. If it makes you feel any better, this was the worst winter ever in our family -- even the adults were getting sick which is rare for us. Our neighbors said the same thing. We are all just praying spring will be healthier!

Good luck!

Hi N.,
I have been giving my kids from Little Critters- Immune C vitamins along with the Little Critters Vitamins. the immune C has echinaccia (spelling?) and a lot of Vitamin C and I also carry with me always the Vicks foam hand sanitizer pump and when we are out in public and come home I wash hands and just do a lot of praying that they don't get sick. Good luck. Hope this helps.

Hi N.,
I know how you feel and felt the same way when my kids were growing up. What I found was mold in my house. The house wasn't old and we had a basement where the mold was found and had seeped into the walls upstairs. I don't know where you live but it turned out that the builder had used moldy timbers during the construction. My step-son had the same problem and he dosen't have a basement. This is just a suggestion and a treatable one. I hope you find a "cure" for the boys illnesses. It can be very tough on them as well as you. Good luck
S.

N.,
I agree w/one of the other moms that you may be cleaning too much. Some germs are good(I am sure you already know that though). My oldest 2 daughters were always sick as well..in daycare getting colds and everything else under the sun...they are now school age and I have two younger daughters as well...what has worked for us is the chiropractor...my older 2 go about once every month, sometimes once every other month. I am not really sure if it is luck or what, but they haven't had an ear infection in 4 & 1/2 years...no major illnesses and maybe two colds(I am not kidding)...they(they are twins) were supposed to have tubes in their ears and adnoids taken out-and were on allergy meds...since chiro care they have not had any allergy meds and I already talked about the ear infections(no tubes)...my youngest 2 girls have been seeing the chiro since they were 2 weeks old-they have NEVER been on antibiotics...What I also do is give them a multi-vitamin, a probiotic and an herbal supplement...sorry this is so long if you have any questions or would like to know what I give them you can email me privately.

My doctor as well as my chiropractor have recommended supplementing with a probiotic to help promote the growth of good bacteria to help fight infections. I even take it when I feel a cold coming on and it definitely doesn't hurt anything and best of all has no side effects. Homefirst makes their own, but you can also buy it at a health food store.

Hi N.,
We need good bacteria to stay healthy and alot of the household cleaners and hand soaps and sanitizers wash away the good and the bad bacteria.
I highly recommend Shaklee products. I recently made the switch and will never go back to the Clorox and lysol and many other toxic products that I've used for years
There is a mom on here that I buy from: Nancy B and she's listed under "Healthy You, Healthy Home.
Shaklee sells a starter kit with everything you need to get started. It was a lifesaver for me. I was overwhelmed with the thought of changing all of my products. I didn't know where to start and the kit took out all the guess work for me.
Oprah has had it on her show before. My youngest of 4 kids has alot of allergies to things and I'm embarassed that I didn't make the switch sooner. He's been doing great and so have my other 3 kids.
I feel good knowing I'm not harming them with harsh chemicals and I'm using things that are safe for the environment. I'm also saving a ton of money, this stuff goes a LONG way.

Best of luck to you and your family,
M.

They do make infant and children's probiotics, sounds like they may need a boost in their immune system. FloraBaby by Renew Life is a great one for infants/toddlers and can be purchased online at www.smartbomb.com Renew Life also makes children's one too, www.renewlife.com (I think) is their website. 80% of our immune system is in our large intestines, whenever we take an antibiotic, we need to follow up with a probiotic b/c antibiotics kills off bad AND good bacteria, if we don't replenish it, we get reoccuring illnesses. If they have been on antibiotics more than twice in one year and keep gettting sick (more than three times in one year) it is a sign that anyone needs probiotics. Also, refrain from sugar when they are sick, a weak immune system loves sugar and the bad viruses feeds off of sugar!

Good Luck,
J. W. MPH

When I had my kids in daycare they always got sick. Pretty much every winter we spent a lot of time in the doctor's office. This was the first winter that they weren't always sick but I started staying home in September so they haven't been back at daycare. I give them vitamis every day and make sure that their hands are clean but it's impossible to keep an eye on them at daycare. The daycare providers keep the areas clean and make sure that all the toys are cleaned regularly but children will be children. Just make sure that they take their vitamins and hope that they follow your direction even when they are not with you.

Hi N.-
Been going thru this with my 4 1/2 year old for about a year now...first of all, we started with vitamins...he's taking the Shaklee kids vitamins (I like these so much better than Flinstones) as well as the Gummi Bear immune Boosters (found at Target) AND we finally took him to an allergist b/c he is stuffy and coughing all of the time...so he has been on Nasonex and Singulair...I hate that he is taking so many meds/supplements, but he has been so much better in school, behavioral and health, we're going to stay at it. We are most likely going to have his adenoids looked at by an ENT, b/c the issues aren't completely gone, but they are MUCH better.

Good luck!
M.

I've found this website a great resource:

http://nourishingourchildren.org/index.html

There's a good chance that what they're developing/catching is from the other children at daycare/sitters/school. The five year old should be on some sort of chewable vitamin but the 18 month old might be a little young for that.

This has not been a good year for our family either. My son has been sick more this year than he has even been. We started using "Aireborne" on a regular bases. From the first sneeze the Aireborne went into play. We also have started using more garlic and lots more foods with vit. c and plenty of zinc.

I just think this has been a year for sicknesses.