My son is 4 months old and he has already had 3 colds. Is this normal? My doctor doesn't seem concerned, but I'm worried it may be a sign that something is wrong.
I'll continue to let my doctor know when he gets a cold, but I'm not going to get too upset. It sounds like colds in infants is common. We're using a humidifier and keeping him warm. I took the week off work to stay home (Wishing I could be home all the time):) But we'll wash our hands more and I'll try to eat a little better to help prevent another cold and as one mom said, maybe the good of it is that he'll be less prone to colds in the future. Once again, Thank you ladies!
my son had bronchitis by that age and lot of colds too. It all depends on who he is around. Quite normal and it builds up the immune system.
cindy
Up to 10 colds a year? What? I have never heard that. My kids never got a cold until after their first year and barely after that.
I have a friend and when her child was much younger was constantly sick.... running nose, coughing all the time; many, many times a year; sinus infections, ear infections and so on. It wasn't until she was 9 or 10 years old that they learned that she suffered from CF.
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to scare you, nor am I an alarmist, but there's something not right with a 4 month old already having 3 colds. I would seriously talk with the doctor and find out why a newborn baby is sick all the time.
Good luck
As it was said already, if your son is in daycare then he will probably get more colds to start, but I can speak from expereince that my 9yr old started daycare at 4 months, and now she is the healthiest one in the house.
If you child goes to daycare it would be no surprise to me that he has had 3 colds. Not that daycare isn't clean, but kids are kids and whenever you have a lot of them together germs are sure to be spread.
My pediatrician told me last year that within the first year of your baby's life they will have 12 to 15 colds.
Seems crazy..but even having him staying home with me, he had about that many.
They say a child can average 10 colds a year. YUCK. And if your child is in daycare... could be more. We were lucky the kids first year. Although this year... we have gotten more. And since I started MOPS, it seems like a day or two after we go, they get sick :( But we can't live a sheltered life either. I hope your son feels better soon.
Is he in daycare? One of the pitfalls of being in daycare is that he will have a cold for about the first 2 years of his life. If he's at home with you or someone else and not around a bunch of other kids, then it's time to look at how clean you keep your house, your hands, and his surroundings when he is out. Get covers for shopping carts and high chairs in restaurants and make sure you wash your hands frequently and don't do the obvious gross things like picking your nose, biting your nails, etc...Make sure you have hand sanitizer with your at all times and clean the handles of shopping carts and make other people use it before touching him.
As long as it's just a cold, it's really no harm, just a bother. Good Luck!
Just to add to the comments...
1. breastfed babies get sick less than formula fed
2. Kids in group daycare get sick more
3. All kids get sick much more than adults. Probably expect 5-10 colds per year, unfortunately.
You can help by washing your hands often (we wash whenever we come in from outside, shopping, etc).
Note: I disagree with the poster who specifically mentioned ANTIBACTERIAL soap. This soap has triclosan in it. Recent overuse of triclosan is one factor that is leading to resistant strains of bacteria. Not good. Research shows that good handwashing practices (wash with soap and running water for a full 20 seconds - say the alphabet song twice through if you don't want to count) removes almost all bacteria even with normal soap. Unfortunately, most people don't do this. You even need to do this with the antibacterial soap.
Really, the hand washing is the biggest thing.
If you're breastfeeding, continue doing so over the winter. Your baby gets sick, he exposes you to the germs. You have antibodies for those germs and you pass them to him through your breastmilk. Nature's pretty clever, eh?
There are a lot of determining factors to think about. Are you or your husband a smoker? This could compromise your son's immune system. Does he have a healthy diet, or take a supplemental vitamins/minerals to ensure nutrition? Does your household have good habbits when it comes to hand washing often, the cleaning of door knobs (for those who do not have good habbits whn visiting your home) and just general sanitinzing and germicidal use on regularly used things...toilet, sheets, clothes, COAT,HAT & GLOVES will soon matter. Is your child in any sort of day care where he is exposed to other kids infections, germs, colds, SNOT...etc....and if so, you may want to talk to the owner and child care providers to ensure they are washing their hands between childrens diaper changes etc.... Also, public.... stores...the handles on doors in public, grocery carts public bathrooms etc....these are the places where bacteria grows....and we can bring it into our homes....
So I guess, I would recommend everyone tightening up the good habbits. Continue using antibacterial soap for everyones hands...even your sweet babies hands. I always have my daughter (as well as the rest of us) was her hands before bed, along with going potty, brusing her teeth, and washing her hands with antibacterial soap for 20+ seconds before bedtime.
Good luck with the cold season.
A.
Have they all been recent? My 8 1/2 month old daughter has had a terrible cold that just seems to linger. (She's not in daycare) I think it's pretty normal for this time of year. Are you disinfecting toys between colds? If your doc isn't concerned I wouldn't be either. Their immune systems need to be built up anyway.
My son is 11 weeks old and hasn't had a cold yet...and you know what? He's in daycare! (Knocking on wood as I type this). Our older son is a little over 2 and it seems he had a cold all the time when he was a baby. They always led to a cold in the eye and an ear infection. He finally got tubes in his ears at his 1st birthday.
If your doctor isn't worried, that's a good sign. If your son is in daycare, he probably will get exposed to more viruses...but my friends son (who stays at home with her) was sick ALL the time. So, I, personally think it depends on the child.
when m y little guy was in daycare he was sick from the day we put him in until the day we took him out, for 3 months.
Hi K.! I would not worry to much. With this weather being so back and forth, that would probably explain it. we go through that here. And I have sinuses, allergies and so when I start to get something, I never know which one it is, a combo of all or a cold. I think this weather does that to alot of people.
S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com
I would say that is not normal. From my own personal experience, you "Might" have some allergy things going on. Are you nursing? If so, you can increase the quality and nutirition of the foods you eat. Stop certain foods for a week and see how he does. I'd start with milk products, they seem to be the biggest offender ( it was for me) Then I would eliminate wheat the next week.
IF he has been put on anti-biotics at such a young age, you'll want to replenish his good bacteria. Take more vitamin C and eat more colorful fruits and veggies.
If you aren't nursing, then look into changing his formula
IF he is on a milk based product, switch to the soy and vise versa. You might want to consider getting some more nutrients into him through supplementation. I know of a great one if you are interested.
Is he in daycare? My second son had no colds until daycare, which started when he was 11 months old, then one about every two weeks for about a year. I could show you the pediatrician co-pay receipts to prove it (he always got nasty coughs and stuff, too.) My older son got colds less frequently, but still about once every month or six weeks the first year.
Even if your baby isn't in daycare, it's common to get 10-12 colds the first year. My son (oldest child) was never sick until 5 months when we started things like playgroups and gymboree -- then he was sick pretty constantly for the next year. Now he's in grade school and only missed 1 day of school last year due to being sick. It's been over a year since he's had so much as a sniffle! My 2 year old was constantly sick from 2 months old to 10 years old (her first winter). My son brought home everything from preschool and spread it around. She was only sick 3 times last winter (her 2nd winter). My 2 month old is currently battling her 2nd cold -- curtesy of her older siblings, I'm sure. :-) And yes -- all the kids were/are breastfed (the older 2 for over a year).
Colds are pretty harmless but annoying. Just keep the humidifier on, the saline drops handy and offer the bottle/breast much more often (just like adults, extra fluids do help).
trust your instincts...they're usually right.
One of my daughters seem to have a cold every month. So yep it is normal especially if they are in day care.
Our doctor told me the average kid gets sick 6-8 times in their first year. You have to consider too that this time of year is when everyone is getting sick. I think every kid in this part of the country probably has a cold right now.
As long as your doctor isn't worried, I wouldn't worry. Connor is on his 3rd cold and he is 5 months old.
