Need a Reality Check

I remember having a LOT of health issues when I was little. I was always sick with something, some joint always hurt, I would get weird bug bites, etc. My brothers never had those issues.

My older daughter used to be sick ALL THE TIME until we got her tonsils/adenoids out and tubes put in her ears, and now she hardly ever gets sick. My younger daughter is never sick. I guess it just depends on the child.

I don't tend to take my kids to the doc for every little thing. I did at first, but it got expensive and I realized quickly that most things will resolve themselves. I only take them now when it's absolutely necessary, which isn't often at all. In fact, I can't remember the last time I took one of my kids to the doc for something other than a regular checkup.

So could be one or the other or a combo of having a sick/accident prone little guy, and taking him to the doc for every little thing.

Our pediatrician told us when our oldest daughter was a toddler, "Pretty much from now until she's in first grade, she will have a runny nose." And that has been pretty much true! LOL Kids are busy building their immune systems (read: they get every cold that comes along), and they are building up their coordination (read: running around non-stop, climbing things and jumping off, playing in the dirt, riding bikes, etc etc). It's totally normal for a child to forever be bruised, scabby-kneed, and runny-nosed. And like our pediatrician told us, it doesn't end until they get a decent immune system going, and are better coordinated! My older daughter will be 10 this fall, and for the first time ever, last year she only had 1 cold, and she (usually) doesn't have too many bruises anymore. But it took 10 years to get to that point. :)

Yes. It's part of being the parent of a toddler. Esp. a very active toddler.

We have our periods where it seems like we are paying for the new wing at the ER. Then we have some down time and then its right back to it. I just try to take it a few days at a time.

My SIL seems to have SOMETHING happen every few days. A know a whole week doesn't go by that one of the kids isnt in to the dr. or the ER.

I think these things are very common with a 3 year old. With that said, are you taking him to the doctor every time he has a cold, bump, bug bite, etc? My 3 year old gets all of these too, but it hardly ever requires a doctor visit...

If you have a special needs child, then yes they may be sick more often than other children. They may get injured more often. They may end up in the doctor's office more often and have more "is this an emergency? I can't tell" appointments that you take them to because it's better safe than sorry.

I have a child with Autism and related disorders and health concerns, so I understand where you're coming from. I'm in the doctor's office with her several times a year for UTI's and bladder infections. In fact, I had to take her in last week for a suspected UTI (I wasn't even certain) and she had a raging UTI. Her communication skills are spotty, so I had to rely on her crabbiness, inability to sleep, wetting accidents, decreased appetite, poor color, and adamant refusal to toilet.

I've also had to get her ankles and wrist X-rayed because her coordination isn't the best. She has mild (I think it's mild, it could be worse than I realize) Proprioceptive Dysfunction so her balance and coordination and related issues are often not her friend. She trips and stumbles quite a bit for no reason, and it often injures her. When she cries for more than a day, we have to get it checked out.

She tends to get more illnesses than other children too, as she's a bit immune-compromised. Her diet isn't as good as it should be due to having a restricted diet from food sensitivities and intolerances, as well as having Sensory Processing Disorder that causes her to be a very self-restricting (go ahead, you can read that as extremely picky) eater.

I could go on, but won't. It's been a medical nightmare at times, but it's part and parcel of our lives right now. It's normal for us and I know that we're not at the doctor nearly as often as we could be, and we haven't made nearly as many emergency room trips as many others in our position have had to make. I've had to call Poison Control countless times. That's always fun.

But yeah, you're not alone.

When you have a child with Asthma yes it can. You may need to figure out what triggers it. I know when mine were little it seemed like that too. They had so many allergy's and asthma issues. I just kept a close eye on them and if they even came close to showing signs of breathing problems I gave them breathing treatments. I didn't wait for them to have to go to the dr. If you catch it early a lot of times they don't have to be seen. It is hard and that runs their system down to where they can catch other things.

My son is three, and not in preschool yet, although he's been attending a half-day summer camp since May. He is not a trouble-magnet (he's pretty cautious) - that would be my daughter, age two - but the germ part is so true for both of them. This past year, we were sick from September through January, blessedly healthy for two to three weeks, and then sick again from February through - well, he just got over a cold last week, so...July. If it's not a cold it's a cough or a stomach bug, and their noses just run constantly.

It's just part of having a Toddler.