Hello Moms! I have a 1 year old son who has been in daycare since 6 months, and he is ALWAYS sick. The pattern is that he will get sick, usually an ear infection, and go on 10 days of antibiotics. About 3-4 days after finishing the antibiotics, he is sick again. This has been going on for MONTHS now. It is posing a huge problem because everytime he gets a fever at daycare, then he can't go back until he is fever-free for 24 hours. My husband and I have had to miss so much work that we are at risk of getting fired. This seems so excessive to me, but everytime I ask he pedi about it they tell me that this is normal for a kid in daycare. This doesn't seem normal to me! I would love to pull him out of daycare and keep him at home, but financially this is NOT an option for us. I end up feeling so guilty that because we have to work and keep him in daycare, it is our fault that he is sick so much. Have any of you moms out there experienced this? Any suggestions to help build our son's immune system?? What about switching to a smaller daycare?? I am at a loss and so frustrated- any ideas will be hugely appreciated!
J.
I hate to say it but....this is very normal. I have a son who is in daycare now and when I was younger I worked in childcare and I even got sick a lot.
It will take about a year for his immune system to build up but once that happens you should notice a difference.
Isn't this the hardest thing? My daughter suffered through a 6 month long ear infection. A couple of months before she got her tubes, I was in the office less than two weeks one month--she was either sick from the ear infection or suffering from antibiotic side effects.
You should definitely get a referral to an ENT--you probably don't even need a referral if you have a PPO or OAP.
The good news is she has rarely been sick in the last year since the surgery. I have combatted some of the colds/infections with a course of Mucinex at the first signs of congestion. It has worked great to thin her mucous and keep it from progressing to a sinus or ear infection. Talk to your pedi about dosing.
I also added Floradix children's vitamins and a children's immune support supplement to her daily routine and I think it has made a difference. I seem to notice her catching something when I miss some days due to business travel. Check Whole Foods or even HEB.
Have an open discussion with your employers about what is happening. Keep in mind, also, that you may be covered under FMLA depending on the size of your company and tenure. Taking unpaid days is hard, but it can help you hang onto your job and take some pressure off your employer--they lose out too when you have to miss.
Good luck...this too shall pass.
My kids are not in daycare, but starting at 7 months my son got ear infections, one after the other, at 10 months we got tubes put in his ears, very simple procedure, and have not had a problem since. The doctor would have gladly kept giving me antibiotics, we had to try several kinds and he was on them almost everyday. I insisted on a ENT doctor referral and to have tubes put in because I was so worried about what the antibiotics were doing to his immune system, not to mention the constant pain he was in. As far as different illnesses it is normal, but having had worked in a daycare (n still work in a church one occasionally) not every worker is the same as far as cleaning. Some run out the door. Toys should be soaked in some bleach water, things should be wiped down, hands should be washed. It really does help somewhat. Ask if they are doing this. His immune system will build up as he grows, they sell yogurt products that help strengthen the immune system.
I went through this when I worked over 40 hours a week as a single mom. Its unavoidable. Switching daycare will prob not solve anything. However I had to make a decision - It was hard on the police department I was working for and hard on the kids too. However I did notice that when I put the kiddos on vitamins or gave them over the counter homeopathic remedies they recovered a lot faster. Also you might consider looking into a sick daycare... its suppose to be an alternative when the kiddos are sick and you need to still go to work. Some centers may offer this as a separate room or there may be a home that offers it.
Completely normal. Great for building up immunities for public school though. Give him vitamins, they help tremendously. Enfamil makes a vitamin drop you can mix with his food. It will help him build up his immunities faster. Everyone I know whose kids went to daycare did not have sick kids when they started school, while, the others were sick just like your baby when they went to kindergarten.
Hi J.
When our son was 8 months old we went through that too, and I know exactly where you're coming from. We both worked and our baby had to be in daycare and he got sick constantly! Its very frustrating I know.
In a daycare environment I know thats normal but I couldn't take it, and I moved him to another daycare. It did get better at the new place believe it or not.
Sorry I don' t have more advice for you, thats just what we did at the time.
Good luck.
I know how you feel. I am a teacher and I had to take off 17 days in 6 months because he was sick so much, not to mention the days my husband took off. Anyways, one thing I noticed with our son was that once he was mobile the sickness started. I am thinking because he can touch and grab more things therefore more germs. One thing to ask the daycare about is how they clean the toys and how often. Currently the daycare my son attends has tubs with bleach water in them. Once a child plays with a toy it is cleaned and given to other children. Also they have runny nose policy. If they have a runny nose for more then 3 days you have to see a doctor before your child is allowed to go back. It might sound like a pain but not as many children get sick. We did tubes at 11 months was a Godsend and a blessing. He has had 3 ear infections since then. He is 18 months old. The tubes allow the ears to drain. One thing helped was seeing an allergist and using Zyrtec at night. I also put liquid vitamins in his milk at night and feed him yogurt. On average a kid who stays home gets 6 colds a year a kid in daycare double so every month they are getting sick. Hope this helps!
We went through the same thing. Put my son in daycare at six months and we were in the doc's office once a month for about a year until I started him on Michael's Pediavites that I got at the health food store. If it's ear infections that send you out that much, tubes is a great alternative. I think usually, four ear infections a year warrants tubes. You might get another pediatrician's second opinion or change altogether. I for sure would get your son on vitamins and possibly a probiotic. There's a new one out for ear bacteria by Animal Parades for inner ear. I've started my son on this also. He hasn't been sent home from day care for at least a year or more (he's three now).
Good luck!
This happens to kids in daycare and kids not in daycare. Ear infections happen because their own Eustachian tubes are so tiny and cannot expel the fluid.
Here in Austin (Texas), the winter was so mild, it was a constant allergy pit! Imagine being a baby and having your body try to process all of that gunk.
Right now with all of the bloomin' flowers and trees, more allergies, then comes the lawn mowing!
With both of you, you need to tell your employers about the situation. You are not alone. Explain the situation and try to keep them informed. At some point I would also suggest you explain all of this to your doctor and see about tubes.. My husband wanted to wait for so long, that at one point our daughter lost hearing! That is when I put my foot down and said he could take a valium, I was taking her to surgery!
Hang in there mom, lots of us have been there. It is so frustrating, but even if you were home all day, this would be going on.
You know you can give your child vitamins crushed up into food if you would like to know more email me back. Yea you can put ear tubes but wouldn't you like to try to avoid that if you could. I'm just saying try other solutions unless he is really really bad off
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Be Blessed and Good luck
If he is always getting ear infections then to me it sounds like he may need to have tubes put in his ears. Talk to your pedi about it and if they don't agree, get a second opinion. As someone else said, having tubes put in is a very easy procedure. Good luck.
Sorry to respond so long after the original posting, but my son is going through this exact same thing now. Everyone says it's "normal" and I agree that perhaps 10-15 viruses a year is normal, but our son is literally sick almost every day. Since September of last year, he's had maybe 30 good days. He is in daycare, and has had a few diagnosed ear infections, but 99% of the time, it's just "another virus"... How has it worked out for you? Has your son gotten better? How long did it last?
Thanks so much, I'm absolutely desperate at this point...
~E.
Hi J., I'll tell you about my experience. I worked at a daycare so I could bring my son with me. He too, got sick every day with pink eye, then ear infection, then a strange virus. That's when I had to quit, 'cause only got to work like 2 weeks, and ended up expending more money that I've made.
I noticed a lot of healthy issues and procedures not followed in this daycare, and it was an expensive one.
After that, I decided to try an in-home daycare with few children and a very clean person. What a difference, He never got sick again!! and he is being going for a year now.
I would recommend you to look into this option. I feel they get more attention, because there's no other 10 children crying around and only two teachers.
Good luck and God bless,
