To think toddler shouldn’t be ill so much?

[Rainallnight]

DS (17 months) is ill all the time. And I mean all the time. Since September, he’s had several colds and chest infections as well as tummy bugs and now hand, foot and mouth.

I know they’re meant to pick up a lot at this age, but this seems relentless. He’s not at nursery - he’s at home with me, other than a few hours a week with childminder (who is also DD’s childminder and DD is fine).

He’s miserable and not the happy baby he once was.

Selfishly, I’m also troubled because I catch everything he has from him. My DM has stage 4 cancer and can’t see people with infections so I haven’t seen her in months. (I have hand, foot and mouth right now).

I’ve asked the GP a couple of times whether there could be anything underlying wrong but they say that since he’s growing and gaining weight fine, that there’s nothing to worry about.

But am I wrong to think this isn’t normal?

And/or does anyone have any tips to prevent toddlers getting sick so much??

I think some children are just more prone.

My reception aged child has been decimated this term (10 days of absence, all necessary). She was full time nursery last year and from Mid Dec to Mid March she was pretty much poorly the whole time. Ironic as she was breastfed (until almost 3) and eats a much more healrhy diet than the other 2 kids.

@Ileana I doubt that's why your son has not been ill, breastfeeding is not the be all and end all. I breast fed my dd and she was always ill with constant ear infections. I didn't breastfeed my son for nearly as long and he has the constitution of an ox, as they say. Never gets ill. I think it's just luck of the draw, much as having a good sleeper is.

Dont know what to advise as my dd hardly ill and didnt get chicken pox when i needed her too. She was ff too so think its down to the child. Hope thats the last for a while op x

Thanks, Martyr I’ve been taking an immune boosting supplement all winter, and my diet’s good (actually better than it usually is as I’ve been trying to lose weight so have been having loads of veg and no booze!). But tbh, my immune system’s never been brilliant and I has asthma too, so prone to chest things

I have asthma too. Don’t know why I started typing like a lolcat.

Is your dd older and at preschool? Just wondering if she’s picking up stuff that she’s got a stronger defence for and passing it on?

I think sometimes it’s just luck and you get bad seasons. Hopefully it will pay off when he starts school but it sucks for you right now

Have you considered adding a pro or pre biotic to his vitamin regime? Gut health can really boost immune systems.

I've got twins who have just turned 3, one is ill ALL the time, the other is occasionally ill with colds.

The one who is ill all the time is skin and bones and got chicken pox recently and got the worst bout I've ever known and will probably scar from it.

The other twin completely avoided the chicken pox even though they were sharing a bed and ice lollies (we were on holiday) for the 10 days preceding the outbreak! Mad!

Sambucol is really great over
The winter I find. Buy in boots and amazon

So sorry you haven't managed to see your mum though, that sucks

Cornetto, no DD is at home just now (long story, got a bad injury and hasn’t been able to go to nursery), so DS is definitely Patient Zero!

Interesting you say that about probiotics. I’m just about to start DD on them so I might give them a go for DS too. I just got a box of kids’ ones.

44 that’s so funny about your twins! I feel the same about our two. DD is always hugging DS and generally slobbering on him (when she’s not whacking him ) and it’s a miracle she doesn’t get everything he has.

inthethickofit Thanks, it has really sucked. I realised today that I’m actually really upset about it, deep down.

I breast fed until 2 and my DS was always ill. I think he just put a lot in his mouth and we went out a lot of he was exposed. I often got it too. Sucks, it's relentless, he's solid snot October to April still.

My son has been like this. I had a year where every month he was too ill to go to nursery at least a couple of times a month. It was a good week if we managed to get through the week without him being too ill to go, or getting a call to pick him up early. He’d been breastfed for over a year, in that time he wasn’t ill too often but once he was on solids only and started nursery he got worse. A lot of illness later we found out he is coeliac, which was probably contributing to it all. Hope things improve for you x

Mine are generally quite hardy, although this year is a hard winter that came early, and it's not been cold enough to kill a lot of bugs, just irritatingly cool and damp to let them thrive in stuffy, heated conditions. We've hardly been out since August as the weather and ground conditions have been so awful.

In the toddler years, I certainly knew children much more susceptible, and it's a vicious cycle that once they're run down, they get the next thing. It does ease up with time though. Another bad phase is starting school and again, it settles.

My dear cousin who is a doctor advised me before mine started school to give them ginger, honey and garlic every morning from the August before they started nursery years ago. All born premature and have never had a day off sick so far. Happy to share more info if you're interested.

DS1 FF from birth and is almost never Ill
DS2 still bf at 2.5 and is ALWAYS ill! He was even hospitalised with a urine infection. Always has a runny nose & recently a bad stomach bug which left him not eating for nearly a week. DS1 didn’t have anything.

Both ‘big’ healthy babies with no underlying conditions.
I think it’s the individual child. DS2 is just more sickly and prone to illness. And yes it can be normal, although really frustrating

I’m sorry you can’t see your mum that must be hard for you both. Can you Skype or FaceTime?

Unfortunately though I think it’s pretty normal for that age.

Some kids are just always ill, there's not much you can do. My heart breaks for you not to be able to visit your dm.

Like @44PumpLane my twins are polar opposites. Ds gets everything and is very much a snotty coughing kid who is very ill 6 months of the year, his twin sister gets a bit snotty but fine. Though they were born at 30 weeks, she was the smallest and needed intubated but he was full of bile and he needed constant antibiotics for a good 4-5 weeks. Older two dds never really got sick, obviously they catch the d&v bugs/colds but otherwise they were and still are much more resilient.

If it gives you any hope, I had two who were constantly sick, I felt exactly like you. At the moment there are about half of the classes out and (touch wood) none of mine yet. They have built up immune system due to previous illnesses.

Yours are so young, it happens, some are more prone sadly.

I hear parents bragging about how their kids are never sick then when they are older it hits them, like our school now!

My DD (18 months) has had almost constant colds/coughs but nothing serious at all. She was ff. All the kids in the nursery have had a bit of never-ending cold too, and they'd be a mixture of bf and ff

An update on this - DS developed chicken pox yesterday. I counted precisely four well days between the end of hand, foot and mouth and the beginning of chicken pox. I feel like I’m slightly losing my mind.

As well as the obvious point that it’s awful for him to be ill so much, it’s having quite a bit effect on our lives. We have a family wedding abroad in five days, and it’s looking like DP will have to stay home alone with the DC as my DM is immunocompromised and can’t possibly be near chicken pox (and nor would be be fair to anyone else, obviously).

I’m beginning to wonder about what @JustMe9 said, and if I should have him looked at my a paediatrician.

by a paediatrician

big effect on our lives.

Guess who hasn’t slept?!