2 Year Old Sick All the Time

Is he in day care or near other children a lot. That's how my son was - sick every other week- until I took him out of daycare and kept him home. There are tons of cold and flu virus' that he is not yet immune to. Poor little guy is probably having to deal with a new one each time.

This doesn't sound "normal" to me. My daughter, now 8, has rarely been sick, maybe twice a year, and she was in daycare since 12 weeks old. All the suggestions about accurate temp taking, vitamins and diet are fine, but if this continues, I would find a new doctor and pursue an answer on this.

Order Super Immunity for Kids by Dr. Leo Galland (I got mine on Amazon). It's all about the essential fatty acids and how to easily put them into your child's diet, boosting their immune system in the process. It can be as easy as squeezing a flaxseed capsule into their morning juice, they won't know the difference and it makes a HUGE impact. My child has gotten this since she was 2 months old, to help with her eczema which she no longer has and she never gets sick. She's 2.5 and she has NEVER needed an antibiotic. Best of luck getting this little guy well. =)

Hi M..Your sister and LO are not alone.

Our 21 month year old is also almost constantly with one thing or another: fever, cold, eye infection, hurt ankle, fever, cold, eye infection....(he literally has gone through 2 fevers and 2 eye infections and an ongoing cold this last month).

Our dr. said this is just normal, especially for toddlers that have many interactions with other kids and people.

the bright side, is hopefully they will be sick less later in life :)

in the meantime, do what you can to strengthen the immune system.

HTH.
Jilly

Assuming that she's not eating a junk food diet, not around other sick kids, and not exposed to stress (or a stressful event), I would give him some type of probiotic. This helps your intestines stay healthy. It can be as simple as a GOOD yogurt, like Stonyfield Farms, i.e., one of the more expensive ones, but 50 cents is worth good health IMHO. Or ask at the health food store and they will point you in the right direction.

There's a great online group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/foodlab/ that helps and educates about diet. Sometimes someone isn't allergic, so it doesn't register, but is 'sensitive' and it's enough to tip the scale in a negative direction. Or perhaps a group of low allergens that don't impact by themselves however all together will tax the body.

Joining is free and they are great at getting you started and also many have "been there done that" with all kinds of issues. If you don't know where to start, this is a good place. At the least, it would rule OUT food allergies, which in itself is a good thing.

You could try another type of doctor, like a naturopath. Several of my friends swear by a good cranial-sacral therapist in our area. I had never heard of that before. (you can google for info). I don't think a chiropractor would help, but *they* will think they can. :)

If it's fairly recent, maybe he's teething? Some kids get rashes or fevers when they get new teeth.

Wish I could be more help!

Maybe she should try a probiotic for him. I give my son Kiefer. It is in the yogurt family. He loves it. I buy it at Jewel.

Has he been checked for PID? Here is a link:
http://www.isitpid.com/

Has he been cultured for strep? When checking for strep (and it should be checked for with EACH fever!!!), he needs to get both a quick swab and a 72 hour culture.

How about Kawasaki? Have they done an EKG to check his heart at all? This is a big one. If this has not been done, then it needs done ASAP!!

Does he have symptoms with the fevers or just the fevers? Are there any corresponding mood changes that would NOT be typical of a 2 yr old? For example, does he seem OCD about anything or have super stress or excessive separation anxiety? Does he act BETTER when he's sick than he does when he's "well"? These can all be signs of PANDAS which is an autoimmune disorder related to strep. My daughter has this and she too had frequent high fevers from a very young age.

The cold, hard truth...
-If your dr doesn't help, get a new one. You may have to pay out of pocket. Children's hospital doctors have been our best bets.

-Get a chiro. Kids chiropractic is gentle and helps build up the immune system.

-Get on a whole-foods diet. NO junk! Everything you eat shoudl be coming directly from the source. Nothing apple-flavored- eat the apple!! etc.

-Research diets for kids with similar issues. Look at the GAPS diet, SCD diet, Feingold program, celiac, leaky gut disorders, etc. Even if he is undiagnosed, my bet is that he has an underlying autoimmune disease. This isn't the end of the world, but he needs some extra support to stay well. You can direct her to my eating blog if you want: www.chickiepea.wordpress.com to read our story too.

-Allergists aren't that helpful. My kids have food sensitivities and environmental sensitivities that allergists haven't detected. We had MSA testing through HomeFirst and do muscle testing (also called NRT or nutritional response therapy) with excellent results!

-Get rid of toxins in the home. Start small and cull the toys with BPA, quit using chemicals to clean, and then move on to big things like ripping out nylon carpeting, etc.

I hope this helps. This is the "short" list of things I would try. If you (or she!) need any more ideas, I'm happy to brainstorm with you. I've been there, done that, so I know how exasperating it can all be.

Hugs,
M.

One of our kids is more sickly than the other. They're 2 and 4. I was able to nurse our son for a full year. But a cancer diagnosis (mine) when our daughter was 10.5 weeks old made me stop nursing at 3 months to start chemo.

She's the one that's always sick - poor thing. I often feel guilty that it's my fault.

It could be that he just doesn't have the strongest immunity.

They could also be overlooking something big. Bloodwork doesn't always show everything - it certainly didn't in my case.

Trust your instincts and press on with your sister to find out what's going on. It really could just be that he hasn't built his immunity up yet, but the jury's out on the best way to do that.

I personally like the advice on HealthyChildren.org, it's the parenting website from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

You didnt talk about his eating habits but it sounds like he might need to eat more fresh fruits and veggies and less processed foods. We have done this at our house and it has made a dramatic difference. I would also suggest her getting a second opinion from another Ped as fevers 1-2 times a month arent normal.

First, how do we know the fever is 101-102? I would start by questioning the thermometer used.

Second, does he have any other health issue, or it is just a fever? If he isn't acting sick and he is running a fever, that is one thing. If he acts sick that is different.

I would not take his temperature between 4 and 8 in the evening. Everyone ones temp goes up then.

I would also, not take his temp within a half hour of waking up, or right after a lot of phycial activity.

Avoiding those problems, if he is still having frequent fevers; your sister is concerned (Mom's know when their children are sick); and the regular doctor hasn't found anything, I would take him to a specialist which deals with temperature regulation issues, but I don't know who that would be.

Good Luck!

Try a great line of vitamins that have a powerful antioxidant. We use Might-A-Mins Spectrum drinkable isotonic vitamins. You can mix and put it right into a sippy cup. My kids used to get sick with whatever the classroom had and now they don't. You can purchase them here: http://www.visionary-wellness.com. Just look under products for children's supplements. Hope this helps.