I am at my wits end and I feel so bad for my baby I don't know what to do. Here is the back story.
My 17 month old DD had continous ear infections from Oct 2010 to May 2011 and was on just about every medicine you could think of. We finally got tubes in her ears in May and she was wonderful up until about 2 months ago. She got one of those summer colds, that she passed right along to me. I got rid of it, but hers turned into a sinus and ear infection. We went to the Peditrician first, they put her on antibiotics for 10 days, and then we follow up with the ENT who did her tubes and he extended the antibiotics for 7 more days. We followed up with the ENT again a week later and he said she was looking good, and stopped the antibiotics. She did get better while on the antibiotics but within 2 days of stopping the antibiotics she is sick again, with all of the same symptoms.
Yes she is in daycare, but so was my oldest and was never this sick. I am out of days at work and I don't know what to do. She eats a healthy diet and I am just so stumped. Really I just want her to feel better, and I would love to stay home with my girls but that is just not possible.
Does anyone have any suggestions of what I could possibly do to help her get healthy or maybe something I am not thinking of to talk to the dr. about.
Thanks for the suggestions. DUH it could be dairy. She had a sensitivity to milk based formulas but seemed to do fine when we gradually switched her from soy to milk at 9 months, but maybe that is part of the problem. I am going to research taking her off of diary to see if she gets better.
They stressed not doing a rinse in a child her age and with tubes. They said that could do more harm than good. They just want you to keep her in a steam bath to help the congestion run.
A good friend of mine found out that she has a dairy allergy which caused her continuous sinus infections. Don't know if this relates or not.
We went through this with my oldest daughter until she had tubes put in her ears. We never had an issue after that. Not saying that's true in every case. Maybe it's an allergy casuing sinus issues and that is causing the infection. Maybe you could try baby allergy medicine for a month and see if that makes a differance.
Change her diet. It's the easiest thing you can do, doesn't involve giving her meds (chemicals) that will degenerate her immune system more in the long run, and can't hurt.
I would start with taking gluten and dairy out. Try it for 6 weeks and see if there is a change. Dairy will be out of her system quicker than gluten... you might have to go for months before you see a change with that, but even if you go 3 months and introduce it back, you should be able to tell if that's the issue when she has some. It does take work, but it's VERY worth it. Those are the common 2 that cause inflammation and infections, but there are others too, so don't stop there- there are total elimination diets that can really get to the root of things. SO many health issues are linked with food- even those we think are healthy-- and maybe they are-- just not healthy for EVERYONE. It's not a "one size fits all!" :(
Have your doctor test for PID and CVID (primary immune deficiency and common variable immune deficiency)-- they are often the culprit in kiddos who get constant infections.
Let me know if you need help with diet or anything- I've been through this with myself and my girls. There are lots of websites out there with support and recipes, etc.
Here's my food blog- all of the recipes are gluten-free and most are dairy-free or can be converted easily.
M.
Sounds like a food allergy. I would keep a food journal.
My daughter had an ear infection from the beginning of May through June of last year. She was on 3 rounds of antibiotics. We'd go to the dr. get diagnosed, meds, back for the check up, get the all clear and within days she was congested again.
I talked to her daycare. Turns out they had started eating watermellon and she was eating a TON of it! I asked them to stop and the ear infections stopped.
M.
Sounds like she is going through a rough spell. All those antibiotics have also have run down her immune system. Please add a probiotic to her regiment. This will help rebuild her immunity. We use it in conjunction with the antibiotic.
I would take her to a Pediatrician Allergist... My son has the same problem. colds that to turn into ear, nore and throat problems.... hence, turns out he is allergic to dust mites... this didn't happen overnight perse, in fact, I guess he didn't start showing full on allergic symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, ear infection and so forth until he was about 5ish or 6.. As you know, the older kids get, the more exposed they are to different things... which is another reason why your child who is now going to daycare may be sick.. she may be having an allergic response to the conditions of place.. (hidden dust) or even someone's perfume.. although your first child did not get sick, as you know, every kid is different.. seeing an allergist may be the best thing to do right now. they can pretty much tell you ASAP if it's a food allergy vs dust.. <<< dust has more symptoms of runny nose and a cold.. whereas, food.. you generally have symptoms right away like a rash and so forth.. An Allergist is the best bet right now..
good luck
Have her tested for allergies...even at that young age one can have allergies...
I would stop the antibiotics and ask the ENT to test her for allergies and then ask him to recommend which allergy medicine she can go on...i know that's REALLY young...
Ask your ENT if you can try doing the sinus rinse on her - i personally don't like the netty pot - I like the upright bottle...but ask if that's something that might help..
Once you find out what she's allergic to - ask your pediatrician and the ENT if you can give her a teaspoon of un-pasteurized (natural) honey...that might be better for her than the allergy medicine...i know it's made a huge difference for me!!
GOOD LUCK!!!
if shes been on all taht medication you need to restore her gut flora with some probiotics. a great quality one. jarrowdophilus is a good brand
did her tubes fall out? does she have seasonal allergies? Or food allergies? Can they do a nasal CT scan to see if she is formed right? My husband has a wrongly formed nasal cavity. They have gypsy cold care teas that you could try for her (cooled down), they taste pretty good and really help me and my 12 yr old.
Hugs! I totally know how hard that can be.
I know this may sound odd to you but my son had allergies and congestion for a long time. But the way I stopped it was by getting rid of all of the chemicals in my house. I now buy 100% Natural Chemical Free products and he has not had a problem breathing since.
My Youngest DD was this way and it turned out to be allergies.
My son had sinus infections one after another. They tested him for allergies (negative) and decided it was just back to back colds from preschool. At one point, he was on a 28 day cycle of antibiotics because they thought he just needed to be on it longer to get it out of his system. He was fine for about a week and it was back. From that point on, we gave him children's Robitussin Cough & Cold CF, which seemed to help, along with Allegra during the day. It was terrible for months, with that bad cough that comes from the sinus drip. He finally just got over it. On the plus side, since basically all the kids had coughs, we were still allowed to take him to preschool since he had no fever.
Besides cutting out all dairy, I would add probiotics to her diet (dairy free of course).
