My DS seems to get lots of illnesses when swimming - linked or random conincidence?

[curiousparent]

My DS in just 4yo. He has been one for getting quite a lot of illnesses - nasty virus's that develop into chest infections, vomiting bugs etc.

When he was about 12mo I started taking him to swimming lessons and noticed how he kept getting illnesses and often missed his lessons. All through the Oct to about April he was very nearly constantly ill and eventually after missing so many lessons I stopped going and just went now and again to public sessions in between illnesses.

At 2 yo he started going to nursery 2 mornings a week and so in winter 2009/10 continued to get illnesses that wiped him out and hung around. When pregnant with DD (now 15mo) and when she was first born we didn't really get as many opportunities to go and winter 2010/11 he was still one for getting illnesses.

Anyway winter 2011/12 we noticed how he seemed to be getting much better in regards to not being constantly ill and how he could seem to fight things off a bit better. So 6 weeks ago we started back at swimming lessons. After 2 weeks he was off with flu for 2 weeks. We went back for a week and then he had another illness with a temp for a couple of days but didn't miss swimming as wasn't ill on that day. So on Thursday he went for his lesson, last night just before bed started with minor temp and during night temp of 39.5 and bad cough/cold again.

So i'm thinking is this all just concidence or do others have children who seem to get ill when swimming?

I am so keen for him to go and develop this skill - we seemed to have missed so many opportunities already due to illness and wonder if this will ever change?

Incidentally my DD (15mo) seems much more resilient already :)

Thanks if you have ready this!

Kids do get I'll alot, some more than others. He might just be unlucky

I wonder if somehow being in the water does something to your resistance. I remember swimming in the river a lot when I was a kid, or even just paddling and when we got home I'd often get that coldy feeling, my glands would go up, etc.

Mind you that was probably because the river was fairly disgusting

It does sound as though he was ill a lot whether you went swimming or not, though, until recently.
Perhaps he is just different to your dd. I know my first child was ill far more than my second seems to be. Not sure why - though I bf'd ds1 for 16 months and then he went on to cows milk, might have disagreed with him I suppose, and ds2 never had milk till recently and was bf till 4 and a half.

It's very hard to pinpoint these factors. Also perhaps your ds will end up highly resilient when he is older!

Are you in the northern hemisphere?

Yes he was until recently quite a sickly one anyway but the fact that he had then done so well until recently starting swimming again really made me .

Yes we are northern hemisphere Edith

Thanks for replying all.

There was a thread not so long ago about a swimming pool, and the child kept getting ill, and there was some mention of the filtering system and whether that was working properly or being used properly.

I seem to remember the OP getting a hard time as she was a bit 'guns blazing' about it and was going to confront the managers of the pool etc.

But I do wonder how we would know, if they were looking after thw water properly.

Wrt to tummy bugs, medical advice is not to swim for 14 days after diarrhoea. I bet no one except me knows this or complies. It's certainly never been mentioned by the swimming teacher. I'm also not renewing DS's swimming lessons next term as he's missed so many this term through illness.

I think it is therefore unrelated to swimming. In the northern hemisphere, the peak "virus season" is about October to March. This is the time your DS is catching everything.

That you tend to swim during the virus season strikes me as co-incidence.

Edith thanks but we did not swim during the whole of the last virus season (Oct to March 2011/12) until Feb 2012. We tend not to swim at all during those winter months but even when swimming during spring/summer we have noticed an increase in illnesses, but I am prepared to accept this is just coincidence.

I agree with obviously with regards to how long people should not swim after diarrhea and think this could affect how many others therefore catch illnesses, particularly if like my DS they appear prone to catching everything going!

I have also googled recreational water illnesses and note that there are definitely links to illnesses which can be easily caught by even a small change to/non-compliance with the sanitization systems and so maybe this does also contribute.

Thanks everyone.

Sorry obviously meant to ask how old your DS is?

He's 14 months. This term since January he's missed 7 of 12 sessions. I'm not blaming swimming for his illnesses, but resent paying if we're not going!

Yeah I know what you mean. I think that is why I gave up when my DS was younger and was hoping as he was older he wouldn't have to miss so many.

Hope your DS fares better than mine in the future wrt illnesses preventing swimming :)