Toddler Always "Sick" During Spring and Fall/ Winter. Some Q's

I would get him tested with an allergist. 3y is not to young. There are two types of tests they can do. Blood test and skin test.

He isn't too young to get tested. I have had my son tested with a blood draw and then did a follow-up on a skin test to get more results on specific foods. My son is 3.5, but the blood draw was done when he was almost 3. The blood draw is tough on a little one and the results take a couple of days, but you can test for a lot of things at once. The skin test gives you same visit results, but if he has a lot of allergies, can make for one itchy back making it an unpleasant visit. I prefer the blood draw because the skin test seems a little subjective to me as a person has to read the results based on what the skin looks like. Plus if the child has a severe allergy, it can contaminate other results if the skin reaction is big.

My son also has asthma and in fall/winter, we put him on a maintenance/preventative asthma medicine so he gets a breathing treatment once a day, whether he is sick or not. When he gets sick we increase the number of breathing treatments to 2 or 3 a day. With this plan in place, his asthma issues when getting sick are greatly reduced and it makes the illness less severe. Before we knew he had asthma, he would get raspy coughs that lingered a couple weeks after a cold. Now, sometimes, he doesn't even get a cough after a cold.

The reason why we get into a regular routine of doing the breathing treatment in the fall/winter is that is when school starts and flu/cold season starts up. We want to catch/prevent any illness related asthma issues before they take root.

If his asthma is flared up by illness or allergies and the breathing treatment he is doing does not include a maintenance medicine, then it is worth seeing a pediatric allergy/asthma specialist to see if a maintenance/preventative asthma medicine will benefit him. It is much better to try to prevent the flare ups than try to manage them after the fact.

Another thing we did was get rid of the carpet in his bedroom and put in hardwood floors. We also put in wood blinds and put an allergen cover on his bed. He uses a pillow pet so we just have to make sure we regularly wash his pillow to get rid of any potential allergens there.

I grew up with un-managed allergies and constantly had a stuffed up nose. It wasn't until I was in 7th grade health class that I even realized that we were supposed to be primarily breathing through our nose because I simply couldn't draw in enough air that way. Now I take allergy medications and they make a big difference.

If you want to avoid allergy medications, then you need to find out what he is allergic to and avoid/remove those triggers. If he is allergic to lots of outdoor allergens then it will be tough because it's not just what is in your yard but the yards of a great area around your home (as the wind carries the pollen). It might be worth also testing for food allergies even if you think there are none. Some food allergies can be delayed and manifest in unexpected ways.

I second the chiropractor. My son has gone since the day he came home from the NICU and has only had 2 ear infections and 2 colds. He had tummy flu symptoms at 10mos and last month, but they didn't last longer than a day (when everyone else we knew had it for almost a week). He gets weekly chiro adjustments and daily supplements (vitamin D, probiotics, multi vitamin, buffered ascorbate C powder).

The other moms with kids who had chronic ear infections, that have seen our chiro now have kids who are less sick and haven't had ear infections since. It really works for us. Hugs!

Omnaris nasal spray is what has worked for my 4.5 yr old. All the otc allergy meds and Sinulair have caused extreme behavior issues with him. To the point I sat him down looked him straight in the eyes and asked him WHY...and he very matter of factly, at 3.5 yrs old, said i don't know why Mommy I want to be good and listen but I can't. It absolutely broke my heart--he really 'could t' .

That moment I took him off his OTC meds found a nasal spray that worked and I have a whole different kid. Btw the can do testing at his age. Some may not do the scratch tests, but there is blood work.. Although not always that accurate. In fact, all my sons came back fine but his pediatricians, and I both can see otherwise. Good Luck!

hes not to young for a blood draw! yes they can do allergy testing through a blood draw then a scratch test. do nasal washes on him. they will take a week or so to adjust to (as you feel like your drowning). this will help with the allergy meds.

Chiropractic! My kids are the healthiest I know, as are the other Chiro kids I know. Spinal column houses the nervous system, which controls all bodily function, including the immune system. It works! Plus vitamin d, normal bacteria exposure, frequent hand washing (no antibacterials).

Our Children's Hospital has a pediatric allergy department that is great. If you have one in your area, you should talk to them.

But, our ped allergist has put it this way to us:
First line treatment: antihistamine (zyrtec or claritin)
If that doesn't work, second line treatment: nasal steroid (such as nasonex)
If that doesn't work, third line treatment: singulair

Since your son has asthma in addition to nasal allergies, an allergist might go for singulair before nasonex, since singulair is a very good asthma medicine. But I'm not sure. And since these are all prescription, you need to talk to an allergist anyway.

I agree, I would seek out an allergist. I don't know about where you live, but there are a few where I live that are a pediatric allergist. Unfortunately, if it is allergy related, there is no getting better without the meds until allergy season is over. I'm having a time right now with my allergies and even with medication, I'm still miserable. My niece just went not too long ago to be tested, and they did the skin testing. They did not inject her with anything, they just put the potential allergen on her skin to see if there was a reaction. An actual allergy doctor might also have better knowledge of a medication that would not make him so hyper.

Wow, that sounds exactly like my 3 year old son to the T! He's not too young to have allergy testing. Find a pediatric allergist. I highly recommend it. it's worth it to find out exactly what's going on and then you'll know alot better how to treat it. Good luck!

My daughter was the same way. We tried everything as well, finally we found Singulair. It is for asthma and allergies, she has not had any side effects from it. It comes in a little packet you sprinkle into applesauce or they have a chewable tablet. It's worth a shot if you haven't already tried it. Good luck :)

Def sounds like seasonal allergies! Have you tried any homeopathic remedies? I give my boys Allerdrain drops and if their runny nose gets to b too much I add a little Hylands Sniffles n Sneezes. I've always had bad allergies but they've gotten much better since being with my chiropractor. She helps the whole fam with our seasonal issues!

Well, if he has asthma, it's likely he also has allergies. He's not too young to be tested. Take him to an allergist.

If it turns out he doesn't have allergies, he may just have a weak immune system. Is he in daycare of preschool? My kids 10, 7, 3 were constantly sick last fall-spring from the time school started until it ended. I am determined to have a better time of it this year. I started giving them a probiotic gummy vitamin. Probiotics help strengthen the immune system. I am also making sure they get ample rest and a healthy diet.

have him allergy tested. My kids are pollen allergic and have asthma because of it. I'd still give him meds, give it to him in the morning. Hyper is better than miserable sick.
Also find some local raw honey. Give him a teaspoon everyday. Raw honey has pollen in it, his body will build up a tolerance to the pollen but you do have to give it to him EVERYDAY.