My 6 year old son just entered kindergargten this year, at the end of August. Since then he has had strep throat 3 different times-the last time a month ago and was just diagnosed yet again today! Since school started he has also had a nearly constant cold and several days of fever-and this is from the child who hasn't seen a doctor for an illness since his first birthday! We go in to his pediatrician again for a follow up on thursday where I will adress my concerns, but I was wondering if always being sick is normal for kids who just entered school? I KNOW schools are cess pools of germs, but come on!
So up until last year I did have my own in home daycare and we attend regular play groups. He does have a really rare genetic disorder that used to make him immune compromised called cyclic neutrapenia, but he out grew that years ago, maybe we should have that checked out again? As for his diet he eats very well-no processed foods, very little sugar no beef etc. Thanks for your answers, I will have him checked out when he is off his antibiotics, but this is insane!
If you child has never attended preschool it I would expect him to be sick with something or another pretty much the entire first year. Many kids go through this in their first year in daycare/preschool/K.
Good luck!
Strep 3 times since August is quite a bit.... To me it sounds more like it was never completely gone, like the antibiotic wasn't strong enough to COMPLETELY knock it out.
On the other hand, it could be that the kids are all just passing it back and forth to each other over and over again.
Yeah, it's pretty normal.
If your child had been in preschool and already been through the gammit of all of this, it would be easier. But when they haven't been exposed to all these germs before, it takes its toll.
Once I had my tonsils out (omg at 17) I stopped getting strep, tonsillitis, lots of sore throats. I think my tonsils became cess pools of germs after all these sicknesses!
Just to let you know, my kids' kindergarten teachers used to go around spraying the desks with germ killers every day after school and things like doorknobs, sink handles, etc to try to ward it off. But little kids wipe their noses with their hands and touch everything, so as hard as you try, sometimes it's a losing battle!
I'd give your child some of the hand wash or wipies to use as often as he can remember and see if that helps.
Good luck!
Dawn
I agree... it sounds like the strep never went away.
As far as the constant colds, if this is his first time in a group environment (no daycare or preschool) he'll get sick a bunch. Anytime kids enter into group care for the first time they build their immunity for the first year or two. My kids have been in group care since they were little, and they were sick a lot the first year but when they started school, they'd get a cold here and there, but only missed a day or two of school.
Also consider that he's probably not washing his hands as often or as well as he should be to prevent illness, and he around a bunch of new germs.
What a bummer for you both~ Hope he gets well soon!
I hope he gets well soon, my daughter's pediatrician told me that kids who do not go to daycare/preschool before starting school will build up their immunities when they do start school. I'm not assuming that your son did not attend preschool, but if he didn't then it would be normal to have him be frequently sick now.
My daughter attended daycare as an infant and she did get sick frequently.
Again, I hope your son gets well soon.
Not really the usual thing. He may have strep colonized somewhere and need antibiotics twice as long. After that you check his immune system.
Because he didn't get sick much before going to Kindergarten (assuming he didn't go to preschool) it's normal to get sick now. He didn't have a chance to build up immunity to all the bugs. I was sick often the first year I taught school. Doctor said I'd build up immunity and I did. Same thing happened when I started in law enforcement. I was exposed to a different set of bugs. Now that I'm 69, I rarely get sick. My body has built up immunity over all those years of living. And I now take probiotics as well as Vit C and D. Those all help to strengthen our immunity system.
I suggest giving him probiotics might help his system be stronger.
Hey there,
I wouldn't be concerned. We fought with that with my son's daycare through the last fall/winter, and even now when the weather changed. I actually get all of his illnesses too, full-blown, maybe because I am stressed out at the moment. His immune system is pretty amazing now, he just had to build it. The little ones need to fight all of these things to build anti-bodies, so that they can be strong as adults. He is basically practicing now. Try to avoid antibiotics. We never gave our son any, but his best friend gets them more and is completely defenseless against everything that comes around at the daycare because the antibiotics just wipe out his little immune system.
So, don't worry too much, we are all going through that!
I would say no not normal but then again my kids have been around other kids in MDO and playgroup since they were infants. My son just started kindergarden and has had mild colds but nothing else. No crummy feeling or fever. I do what I can to help them stay well, who knows if it really helps or not. I give them an 'immune support' multivitamin everyday. I make sure they go to bed early to stay well rested, they eat yogurt for probitotics(has to say live cultures on it) and I make sure they drink lots of water. I tell my son to please wash his hands a lot and to not touch his face too. They thing with antibiotics, from my understanding, is that while they knock out bacteria from your body to make you well they also weaken your immune system so your more susceptible to catch other things. And they can stay in your system long after your done taking them. Hope your little guy feels better soon.
Not normal, but each child is different. After he was treated for strep the first time, did you go for a follow up to make sure he was 100% cured? When I was in school I would get strep a minimum of 3 times a year.
That was me last year....she had strep in August, croup in mid-October, Strep two days into croup, and strep a month or so later. Earlier she was almost never sick.
None of my kids have missed more than five days of school each. Two are adults, one is 13 and the other 11. So no it isn't normal.
My GD went through one year of school (2nd grade) where I think she was sick 75% of the flu season. I swear no sooner would she get off the antibiotics, and she was down again! This year (5th grade) she is again starting to get sick often. She has missed 2 days of school on three separate occasions since the start of the year.
I can't figure out what's going on. I just try to go with the flow!
From what I've read about cyclic neutrapenia, it isn't usually outgrown until puberty. And it does set you up for recurrent infections, especially in the throat, mouth, intestines and skin. Has he been treated with G-CSF? The treatments may need to be given maybe once a month or so. If I were you, I'd definitely bring this to his doctor's attention.
Do you have any dogs or pets?
I've heard of pets and people passing strep back and forth over and over again.
They all have to be treated at the same time by a doctor and a vet.
I completely agree that maybe he was never rid of the stupid germ, here is another thought.
*First, for full disclosure, I am an RN/Wellness Educator. I do this for a living.
What we know for a fact, is that by consuming 100 grams or about 25 teaspoons of sugar a day, will decrease our immune system by 50% for up to 5 hours. The theory is that depending on their breakfast. . . they usually get candy rewards from the teachers. Get sugary treats for every Star of the Week and Birthday celebration. We go from Halloween (yes, I realize we haven't had it yet) to the winter celebrations to Valentines day to Easter. These kids are on a constant sugar high and constantly immune-suppressed.
Start watching any extra sugar, try to decrease and see if that helps. I do understand though. My son had strep so often that at one point they were going to test everyone in the family, including the pets!
This does not happen to every kid. The one time that happened to my daughter (who is now 10) was when she got her first vaccine (the one and only), and she got sick, so they gave her antibiotics. Then weeks later she got sick again, again they gave her antibiotics. Then again, weeks later (maybe a month), she got sick again ( she was maybe 18 months at this point) and the doctor said it was either asthma or bronchitis, so he prescribed medicine. I did not trust this anymore. The next day I took her to a homeopathic md and got homeopathic medicine, and took her to my now current md that is very resistant on meds and vaccines, and he said she did not have bronchitis, and I should not give her the meds. I stopped and only gave her the homeopathic medicine. She got better and has not been given antibiotics since. Antibiotics themselves compromise the body, so if you are on them a lot, it weakens the body. Check into probiotics to help strengthen him inside, and see if you can find another doctor that does not prescribe so quickly (so that you know that that is the last option). Maybe also check into homeopathic remedies. The doctor that we saw is dr. Karen Feder, who has a website, and because of her we use Briar Rose , a homeopathic remedy, whenever any of us get sick, and that has been helpful (we just give less to the kids than it says for the adults - 15 drops for our 5 year old). Good luck
Updated
This does not happen to every kid. The one time that happened to my daughter (who is now 10) was when she got her first vaccine (the one and only), and she got sick, so they gave her antibiotics. Then weeks later she got sick again, again they gave her antibiotics. Then again, weeks later (maybe a month), she got sick again ( she was maybe 18 months at this point) and the doctor said it was either asthma or bronchitis, so he prescribed medicine. I did not trust this anymore. The next day I took her to a homeopathic md and got homeopathic medicine, and took her to my now current md that is very resistant on meds and vaccines, and he said she did not have bronchitis, and I should not give her the meds. I stopped and only gave her the homeopathic medicine. She got better and has not been given antibiotics since. Antibiotics themselves compromise the body, so if you are on them a lot, it weakens the body. Check into probiotics to help strengthen him inside, and see if you can find another doctor that does not prescribe so quickly (so that you know that that is the last option). Maybe also check into homeopathic remedies. The doctor that we saw is dr. Karen Feder, who has a website, and because of her we use Briar Rose , a homeopathic remedy, whenever any of us get sick, and that has been helpful (we just give less to the kids than it says for the adults - 15 drops for our 5 year old). Good luck
