Seeking Advice on Child's Health

Does the zinc levels cause her to be sick often? I would think so. Can you try the lozenges and the supplement? I am not sure. I think seafood has zinc in it, but if she is a slow eater, I don't know if you could even get her try it, unless she enjoys the peeling the shrimp, then she may eat more. Find out what zinc foods would give her an interesting way to eat. Like giving a toothpick to small children to eat their beans. They LOVE to do that.

Also, my son has been sick often too, and I was very heppy with our clinic. When we started to check for a Ped because of his special issues (and then our FP became a pain), we found that the ped office could actually get sick children in the same day, rather than ending up in the ER. I never even considered that any clinic would do that, ours could only sometimes. Some children can wait, and others can't, when trying to prevent inpatient stays. So, you may look into getting with a doctor that can see their sick children in that day.

I looked up foods that contain zinc on the internet and it listed beef, pork, turkey, chicken, crabmeat and salmon. Make sure she is eating a variety of foods, including these things and you may not need the supplements. If she seems to not be very hungry, then take her outdoors each day for some fresh air and sunshine. A 30 minute walk would do wonders. It will stimulate her appitite and help her sleep well too. God bless.

S., I hope that I can help a little bit; but first, how wonderful that you're doctor has found out about the zinc deficiency. I found that very interesting and hope to see if that is an issue with my own daughter. She is 4 years old and will not stay in her chair either; my 7 year old son takes hours to eat too. All the advise I can give is that I was the same way with my parents. For me it was not just things that I didn't want to eat, it was some of my favorite things too. I loved chili and once took about 2 hours to eat it. I took 3 1/2 hours to eat some freshly caught fish (I didn't want to eat that though). I have several siblings and my parents finally made a rule that if I wasn't finished eating by the time everyone else was finished with dessert, then I didn't get any dessert. Eventually that was enough incentive for me. With my own children, that time limit doesn't seem to work as well, so we now have set a time limit with the clock. If my son doesn't finish by a set amount of time, he doesn't get dessert. So far, it's been working out decently, but truthfully it was a battle of wills for a while: would we give in first or hang on until he has finished what we have asked of him.
Good luck at your meals and I'm grateful you mentioned the zinc deficiency.
Thanks,
K.

Reliv, www.reliv.com, has a product just for children. You might want to look into it.

Just curious if you have had her tonsils checked out???? When I was little my mom says it took me about two hours to eat each meal. My tonsil were HUGE!!!! and I apparently had terrible asthma. Back then, the doctors would not remove tonsils in a child under 5 years old. With persistence my mom was able to find a doctor that did remove my tonsils at age 5. I was able to eat normally and my asthma virtually disappeared (I only notice it when it is really cold outside). Take her to a EENT doctor to find out. Hope this helps.

Take care and God Bless :)

I'm wondering if your family are vegetarians or eat very little meat products? Or maybe she is a picky eater? Most foods that contain high amounts of protein (meat, fish, dairy, etc.) will have higher amounts of zinc. If you dont eat much of those then that may be an issue. Also, ofthe zinc we eat only 15%-40% of it is actually absorbed by our body, but increasing Vitamin C, E, B6 or minerals such as magnesium can help improve absorbsion. Here are some links I found also to help you.
http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/zinc-rich-foods-38...
http://www.nutritional-supplements-health-guide.com/zinc-...
Hope things improve :)