Back to Back colds.....allergies?

Schools are breeding grounds for all kinds of colds etc. You are doing nothing wrong!! Kids get sick and some people have allergies. It happens. Mine got sick a lot at those ages.

We moved to a new area a year and a half ago and last school year my kids were sick constantly. They both have pollen (and dust mite) allergies too...especially my daughter. I also got sick a lot which I never do. I even got the flu twice last winter! I don't even remember the last time I had the flu. I am happy to say that this school year my kids have both been very healthy. So, I think when you move to a new area all the new germs get ya. If your family is like my family expect for your kids to get sick a lot for the first year or so and then it tapers off. Plus going from homeschooling to a school environment will mean exposing your kids to more illnesses than before. My pediatrician says they get all caught up in the end and most kids experience roughly the same amount of sicknesses overall. So...your kids are catching up. Good luck!

You are probably not doing anything wrong (I say probably because if you are a smoker, you are making it worse. Hopefully this doesn't apply to you.). Some kids are just born susceptible to allergies.

The throat clearing is caused by postnasal drip from the allergies.

The advice from Margie is excellent with regards to dust mites. Pillow and mattress covers, frequent bedding washing, along with an air purifier in their room (keep the door and windows closed) can really help, along with the meds described in the other post. I don't know if you have a pet, but if you do, at least keep it out of the bedrooms.

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/2475508298204643329 for advice on meds.

It might get better once school is out (only 5 weeks away over here!).
Plus, you're coming up on one year in your new location - so you'll have had a full year of experiencing all the new pollen and germs in your new environment.

When our son started daycare he got sick a lot for about 2 years.
When I started kindergarten (this was in the 60's - we stayed home until then), we got sick with everything going around for about 2 years.
My personal theory is - it takes about 2 years to train up an immune system when being introduced into a new environment.
You'll get through this eventually but it takes time - sometimes a lot of time.

Get your seven year old tested for allergies. Sounds just like my oldest - hearing loss, tubes, and then we realized it was from allergies that caused fluid buildup.

Asthma that presents as cough - my kids who were diagnosed with that turned out to have allergies. They outgrew the cough over time, but that throat clearing - familiar with that.

We have the dust mite, pet and pollen allergies here.

Dust mite covers on the mattress and pillows, and your bedding has to get washed a certain way. Buy something that can be laundered frequently. Don't hang outside to dry (pollen).

No carpets or rugs. At least in their bedrooms. We had to tear ours out. Curtains hold dust too.

No pets. Our allergist said that pets are a no no. When our cat died, my son with worst allergies (tubes) finally looked, sounded and seemed healthy like a typical kid.

Air purifier - at least in their rooms.

They don't have compromised immune systems or anything like Cancer. You just have to take the steps to cut down on allergens (and you can't cut them all out, so do what you can) and medication. Mine have to take allergy meds. And they sniff a med daily too. It has to be done regularly otherwise it's not effective.

I have to have mine shower when they come in from outside if they are scratching.

It's a pain, but in some ways if all three of yours have it - you just make the changes and it becomes the norm after a while.

I stick stuffies in the freezer. I can't wash them - we've lost whiskers and torn holes in much loved stuffies in the past.

Knick nacks be gone. Good luck - keep us posted. You can find all that info online.

I think moving to a new area can cause allergy/cold/ENT symptoms. My mom told me that when my family temporarily moved to Tokyo, I was getting those symptoms nonstop (I had just turned 4). She said the symptoms eventually went away as I got used to the new environment. I'm guessing it had to do with dealing with new germs I had never come in contact with.

Anytime I started to catch the slightest cold as a child it always turned into bronchitis. With a cough and lingered forever! I seemed to always be sick and my aunt always treated the symptoms (so I had multiple medicines almost all the time). As an adult, I was tested for allergies and then got those under control. Guess what? Rarely sick anymore...cause I treated the root cause rather than just the symptoms.

Sometimes moving to a new house can have some issues. Perhaps the former residents of the house or apartment you're now living in had dogs? Have you had the carpets thoroughly cleaned by a reputable professional cleaner who specializes in removing pet dander? If there's carpet everywhere, perhaps the foam padding has been damaged by pet urine or maybe it's old and full of mites. Find out how old the carpet/padding is. And if you want carpet, some are more resistant to mites, like a very short tightly woven carpet rather than a plush type. You may need to replace the carpet and pad.

And how about ducts in the house (AC or heat)? Have they been professionally cleaned?

And mattresses: have they been cleaned or replaced and then protected with a good quality dust mite proof cover? Pillows too.

Another place to check: behind the stove and behind and under the fridge. Often they seem clean on the outside, and inside, but they may not have been moved and cleaned underneath for a long time. The previous residents may have neglected to do that.

My dd is severely allergic to dust mites (and quinoa! How weird is that?) and we had to remove the carpeting in our home, replace it with laminate flooring and tile, and we had to remove all our sofas and living room chairs and replace them with leather, and take chair pads and drapes away. It was a huge undertaking.

What kind of allergy testing have you had done? There are generally three kinds. My dd has had all three. A blood test will test for 26 common food allergies (peanuts, dairy, soy, etc). The skin prick test is done to determine allergies to environmental things (trees, grasses, animals, mold, weeds..). Then there's a patch test. My dd had it done a couple of weeks ago. It tests for metals, additives commonly found in lotions and shampoos and soaps and medications, fragrances, preservatives, and things like that. My dd tested mildly allergic to Bacitracin (the antibiotic) but it wasn't considered serious. But she tested off-the-charts allergic to Thimerosal, which is the antibacterial, antifungal preservative in vaccines. It's also in many cosmetics and in some medicated creams. It was painless (dots are applied to the back, and the dots are infused with the potential allergen, and then a doctor checks the dots every couple of days for a week). Maybe you need more extensive testing since you know your daughters already have some allergies.

Schools usually mean more viruses and colds and illnesses, but hopefully your kids will adapt soon.

You moved to a new area. It will take time for your bodies to become used to the new things in your environment. You weren't there last spring. So this spring everything is new to them. Next month it will be something else. Then another year will start and you'll see a bit less but it can still take a year or more for your body to decide if it's allergic or going to be fine with new stuff.

You are over thinking things here. You just moved here from another state. You body was use to the allergens from where you lived. Each area or region of the country has its own "worms/germs" for the body to adjust to. Some regions are dry and others are wet and others are in between. This time of year everything is blooming or in bloom and pollen is everywhere..

Get your children on some meds for allergies and go from there. Remember that the can grow out of the allergens and be fine. If you have a dog it might be time to rehome it if you can't get the dander under control. Dust mites are everywhere. The only other way would be to live in a glass tube or sterile environment and that would be no fun either. I sorry you have to go through this.

I now live in New Mexico but lived in Europe and had to get use to the allergens and dampness and had severe sinus and allergies for the longest time. Now I am back in the dry and dust and high pollen counts and diagnosed with asthma but have the correct medicine and don't have breathing issues.

the other S.