Constant illness in children

[Directorlevelmaybe]

I have 3 kids and one in particular is always sick at moment.

She never gets simple colds. They always turn into mega coughs where her nose streams and every time we have several nights where she coughs and coughs until her tummy empties all over her bed. They last ages too. She never gets a simple runny nose it always turns into epic illnesses.

I took her to a private paediatric dr the other week (my gp is awful) and he said we were just unlucky, she’s perfectly healthy, blood test showed she was all good. He gave her a once over and said she’s great and just told us to keep up with vitamins.

So far this year she’s had a tummy bug, Covid (that required several trips to hospital due to 40 degree fever that wouldn’t shift), a chest infection that needed antibiotics, an eye infection, and now this thing which is a chesty wet cough that is making her vomit a lot. Particularly awful at night.

We are on our knees here. By the time illness spreads through us all, a new one comes. We are barely working at the moment. We don’t socialise as someone is always unwell.

Has anyone had this? Any tips?

Echinacea?

Oh thats unlucky. No advice but sympathy.

Actually thought of 1 bit of advice. Are you raising her head at night when shes got a cough? Ive always found that helped slightly.

Hi, I do sympathise. I had one who was always more impacted than the others. People are just different.

It is very reassuring that the doctor thinks all is well. It doesn;t make it less annoying but it is better than having some hideous underlying cause.

The things I would do are:

• keep a diary so you can see clearly what the patterns are in case your return for more medical advice
• prep a cold kit for upstairs
• teach your child to vomit into a bucket, have one always in their room
• rest more at the outset of a bug to see if that helps them get over it any quicker
• try to work out what air conditions improve her coughs - you can buy humidifiers etc if they might help

You did not say how old this child is? That will have a big impact on the advice people will give you.