Cold Every 2 weeks...no Lie. Normal or Something Else? 2Yr Old

I also have the same concern for my kids. My son is 3.5 yrs old. He gets cold every 3 weeks which runs for about a week (fever,cold,cough) for the last one year since he started daycare. I was hoping that after a year it will get better but no improvement yet. The worse part is my daughter who is not even 2 and is at home all day gets germs from her brother. It affects her more and we endup with nebulizer treatments and sometimes even oral steroids :(

Some kids, some families go through this. We are on our third cold in two months. I know one family who is never well (two kids). Someone is always sick with something. It's really discouraging.

I think the kiddos are just building their immunity. I went to my doctor saying "THIS CAN'T BE NORMAL!" and she said, it really truly is. I'm sorry though, it really stinks.

Two things come to mind.

1. My husband had a re-occuring sinus infection that would come back again and again. He needed a month of antibiotics to get to where the infection was (determined by an MRI).

2. Allergies. Could he be being exposed to something that knocks him out?

Did he just recently start day care or preschool? If so, this is completely normal. My daughter was the same way. She was sick every couple weeks the first year she was in preschool. I got to know the nurses at our doctor's office very, very well because we were there all the time. After about one year of being constantly sick (colds, ear infections, sinsus infections, strep throat, etc.) it finally started to taper off as her immune system got stronger. She started kindergarten in August she hasn't missed a day of school yet. Now that I typed that I've probably jinxed her and she'll end up sick tomorrow. :)

My daughter is 3 and she is going through the same issues. She has had at least 3 colds and 2 ear infections in the past 2 months. She has been on antibiotics 3 times in that period. The doctor's aren't concerned and say it's just "normal" for time of year. I also have a 10 month old and she constantly has a runny nose or cough as well. Both my girls are in daycare and I totally blame that but the doctor says it would happen even if I had them at home. I think this is just the time of year when immune systems are down and germs are up! Good luck:-) Hope your little one feels better soon. Oh, and one last thing, keep a cool mist humidifier running whenever he is sleeping. This has helped us some.

sounds like allergies that aren't being controlled. When allergies are left unchecked, they can create sinus infections and ear infections. Have him tested for allergies and see what's going on.

If he just started pre-school or a new day care - this will happen as his immune system builds up.

it truly sounds like undiagnosed allergies...

We had that one year. I swear between my daughter and my son, someone was sick ALL winter until after Easter!

This year, we all have had a cough that never ends. Daughter for 6 weeks, hubby for 3, me for 4 weeks and counting, and now my son has it. It's going around where we live.

Have you considered allergies? The red eyes and sneezing could indicate allergies, especially the red eyes part. It's really hard to distinguish a cold from allergies (except with a cold you often feel achy and might have a fever). They make liquid allergy medicine for pretty young kids. I think mine started at age 2. You can buy over-the-counter liquid Zyrtec (check age limit). We get ours prescribed by the doctor, because for us it's cheaper. You might try and see if that helps. If nothing else, a 4-6 hr. antihistimine (like Benadryl) helps dry up the mucus so they don't cough at night. I would ask your doctor.

Getting sick so often would be normal if he is in daycare. I just took my son out of daycare because just like your son , my son would come down with some illness (not only cold) every 2-3 weeks. He would get better, go back to daycare and a week later sick again with something else.
Regular colds could be allergies. Talk to his doctor about it next time.

Is your son taking vitamins or getting enough nutrients with his food? My kids were both in daycare and used to get sick all the time until I started them on regular vitamins. They now take a kid's multi-vitamin, a probiotic, and Barlean's Total Omega fish oils (liquid). They still get sick sometimes but definitely not as often as they used to. I also try to get them to eat more fruits & veggies with Vitamin C and other healthy nutrients to keep their immune system strong. I started them on these when they were around 2 or a little before. They are now 2 1/2 and 5.
My kids, like most other kids, don't always want to eat fruits and veggies so I end up getting creative with them to get them to eat them. I juice fresh oranges and carrots and mix together and freeze in a popsicle mold and they love having these for dessert and don't even notice that there is no added sugar or anything else in there.

I do also think that maybe you should talk to his doctor just to rule out allergies or other issues and once those are ruled out, then talk to the doctor about vitamins. Our pedi approved all the vitamins I give my kids.

My kid did that for about a year and he wasn't even in preschool yet! It would take him a week or 2 to get over a runny nose, only to turn around and go through a week or 2 of coughing. When I would vent to other moms about this, they all just advised me this is a good thing b/c he is building up his immunity.

Looking back I think they were right. The 3 years my kid was in preschool, he never got the flu (we get flu shots every year) even when half the kids and teachers were out, and now that he's in K he hasn't missed a day of school once since it began.

Just make sure to keep the drainage out of your son's sinuses via saline squirts and suction/blowing his nose. Limit his sugars and dairy - they make the body develop mucus. Give him a steam bath at least once a week...if you have to, squirt some saline in his nebulizer and let him breath in the steam that way. I would also up his Vit C intake, as well as adding whatever fruits and veggies you can to his diet, along w/plenty of lemon juice and garlic in what you are cooking.

is he in day care?? iif he is in day care this is totally normal. My ped said kids get 8 colds a year.. If they are in day care they get 3 times taht ... so 24 colds a year.

My kids started day care in March... they did pretty well spring nad summer.. but then fall came and they were sick from October through April. constant.. they have a good immune system so they just had colds.. no ear infections. They next year they were healthier.

Allergies. Living the Snot Dream here as well. Mine is 8, and without allergy meds it NEVER ends.

It sounds like it could be allergies or quite possibly his immune system is run down and can't fight off the colds. Try giving him lg doses of Vit. C, 4-6 chewable wafers a day (his body will excrete any of it not needed, no way to overdose) and echnicea or zinc in whatever form he will take it in. My kids like the chewy gummy Immune C with zinc & echinacea when they're feeling a little run down. The few colds they've had (knock on wood) only last 2 or 3 days and never turn into anything worse. A good probiotic daily will also help to strengthen him. I open up the adult capsules and sprinkle them on my kids cereal in the morning. They have no flavor.

Allergies leave us more susceptible to other infections. And sometimes, they are not just IgE (skin scratch) type allergies. Cow dairy is frequently a culprit and I wish I had trusted my gut with my two kids and banished milk and cheese, but the pediatrician kept telling me my older daughter, in particular needed more milk. She drank tons of it. Loved it. The pediatrician was happy. And she had allergies, and allergic shiners, and later it, along with gluten affected her brain functioning too, which got (mis)diagnosed as mental illness even (bipolar disorder-http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/2011/05/allergies-asthma... )!!! All from IgG - food sensitivity type allergies. And yes - they did get allergy shots for years for the IgE type allergies.

Anyway, I'd try at least eliminating dairy which is considered mucogenic, and take him to a pediatric allergist.