Sickness bugs - how often is normal for a 3 year old?

[IfAtFirstUDontSucceed]

DS 3yo is sick again today- for the 5th time this year.

He goes to nursery 2 days a week and the vomiting always strikes the day after a day at nursery.

He's had sick days pretty much once every 6 weeks.

I spoke to nursery last time he was sick to see if there was anything going round but was assured there wasn't. In fact they normally send a text to all parents if there is a bug on the rampage.
I also asked for a run down of the meals he had on those particular days and there wasn't any consistency and he doesn't have any food allergies that we're aware of.

Whatever he has seems to pass by late afternoon and there's no diorreah and no one else in the house gets sick.

Could it just be one of those things when DCs are around other kids?And is the frequency fairly normal?

[Paddingtonthebear]

That sounds very unusual to me. My DD is 3.8yrs, has attended nursery for 2.5 years and has never had a sickness bug. That said, I would say maybe one or two a year sickness bugs would be considered normal for small children?

Could he have an allergy or intolerance to something?

[Paddingtonthebear]

Sorry just seen you've ruled out allergies.

I think he's eating or drinking something at nursery that doesn't agree with him. Does they provide food? That level of regular sickness immediately after attending nursery would make me doubt their hygiene to be honest

[IfAtFirstUDontSucceed]

If it was a food intolerance or allergy it would show not long after he ate? He only begins being sick when he wakes up the next morning.

Also, he's shown no signs of a food intolerance at home.

The nursery didn't seem overly concerned last time I spoke with him, just to let them know if he's sick again!

I wonder if he's eating something that he shouldn't - like play dough or the play water or something equally random!

[IfAtFirstUDontSucceed]

Sorry Paddington I've just seen your second post.

Yes he's there full days so gets breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks.

It's a Nationwide nursery and they have a 5 star rating for their food hygiene.

[DisneySenior]

Dd1 (now 7) constantly picked up bugs and colds when she was younger. Nursery was at least a few days absence a month and primary one ended with an attendance record of 74% causing a multi agency meeting (they didn't believe dd was genuinely not well) and several trips to the doctors with me begging for answers as to why she was ill all the time. The gp continued to state that it was totally normal for young kids to pick up bugs and things and that it would get better as she got older. Eventually she was put on medication for low iron levels and her primary 2 attendance was 95%.

I always thought they shouldn't get ill so much but 3 different gp's reassured me that it was fine, she was just 'unlucky'

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Just to add to your data, my DS2 is 3.9 and has only ever been sick twice in his life. No vomiting bugs that I know of; once was after he ate prawns (and we thought he might be allergic but turns out he isn't), he's never eaten them since. Can't remember what the other one was about.

It sounds most odd that he's being sick after being in daycare; as you've ruled out any common food, I'd also look at what crafts they've been doing, see if it is the case he's putting something he shouldn't be into his mouth? (DS2 is just going through a phase of this now, driving me nuts!)

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

We have a child with multiple food intolerances and allergies.. He can be sick up to 24 hours after eating some of the things he is allergic to, sesame for example. He can also vomit (usually preceded by coughing and usually at night) after having been exposed to some chemicals and some of his more random allergies, rubber, some plants, chemicals etc. Somethings happen only when two or three things coincide, like perhaps he might be a little tired / emotional, have a slight cold, been eating a little more sugar than usual and then he may react to something that he doesn't always react to.

Saying that, he is a very allergic child (asthma, eczema, constant snotty nose as a toddler) and controlling his surroundings and diet has been crucial to allowing him to lead a normal life!!