DS is on his 15th cold this year.

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DS is nearly 16 months old. He just seems to have colds constantly. He got a cold a few weeks ago, got better for 2 days, then got another cold. He was better for 4 days and now he's got yet another cold.

He doesn't cope with being ill very well. he gets full blown man flu like DP and I lose about 5-7 days of sleep every time because he hates breathing through his mouth and can't get to sleep.

I know kids get ill a lot when they're young but seriously 15 colds I'm 11 months?!

I've just spent the last 3 and a half hours getting him to sleep but I know he will wake up in about 20 minutes and it will all start again.

Is it actually a cold?

Allergies can present with them.being very mucousy and sniffly .

If your sure it's a cold

Maybe try some vitamin drops if he's run down they might help

I wondered whether it was an allergy thing..

Have you asked a doctor? They may want to prescribe antihistamine or inhalers

If its been going on 11 mo the and he's 16 months old then I'd guess it coincides with starting weaning around 5 months ish?

Or coincide with him starting nursery?

About half are just snotty colds and half are coughs too. DP had bad asthma when he was younger. I don't think it is asthma though.

I haven't considered allergies but I suppose it could be. But I should have said in my op, he's always had loads of colds, I only started counting them at the beginning of the year. I did take him to the doctor when he was about 4 months old as he'd had a (near enough) constant blocked nose for 6 weeks. They didn't do anything though.

He was ebf until 6 1/2 months and still bfs now if that makes a difference.

He doesn't go to nursery but DD (3) does.

Does he suffer from any thing else?

Dry skin? Eczema? Reflux? Does he sleep ok? Is he prone to bad nappy rash?

And what about energy levels is he alert and active?

Gut feeling would be allergy/intolerance. Dd had a permanent cold for weeks Al cleared up on hypoallergenic formula.

Hi op I took my ds to the doctors when he was about 12 -14 months old to as he had cold after cold and was always stuffed up.

They refered him to paediatrician to look at at allergies, enlarged adenoids and did blood tests.

It turned out he has a mild and quite common immune deficiency called IGA defiency. It means he doesn't fight off respiratory tract infections easily by himself and sometimes requires antibiotics where others may not.

i think it's worth asking your go for a referral to a paediatric doctor who can investigate.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your help.

Giles, Thats great that the formula helped your DD.
House, sorry to hear about your DS. Is there anything you can do for it, or do you just have to put up with all the colds?

DS has a small patch of eczema on his neck. It kind of disappeared over the summer but is starting to come back now it's getting colder.

He doesn't get nappy rash and definitely has loads of energy.

Sleeps terrible. Even when he doesn't have a cold. Hourly wakings.

I'll make his a gp appointment today.

Apparently people often grow out of this immune deficiency during the teenage years.

Ds went through a bad phase with it in around 2-2.5yrs old and we decided to put him on a low dose of antibiotics for six weeks to shake off low level infection.

Since then he's just got better and better and now at 5 doesn't often need antibiotics than most other children. I'm hopeful he'll grow out of it.

He has a flu vaccine though and I recognise the signs now when I think he's coming down with one of the illness that he won't shake off and deal with it early before it takes hold.

Many of the things you mention are like ds was, poor sleep, not seeming to cope with being ill. But anything that's making you full of cold and mucous could cause those symtoms.

A paed should do a full checkup to look for underlying causes. Don't be fobbed off if you think it's unusual.

I hope they Dr can help. The hourly waking, does he appear to be in discomfort?

My DS1 gets a lot of colds (back to back) and has a problematic cough for which he is seeing a respiratory consultant. The consultant told us that anything from 8-10 colds a year is normal in children! I'd definitely get him followed up if things are worse than that. As previous people have said it may be allergy related. My son's problem is caused by a resistant type of bacteria but some longer courses of specific antibiotics have made a massive difference. Hope you get some relief for him soon.

Hi I'm the op. I've name changed.

DS is on his 16th cold now. DD has this cold too so I know it's a 'proper' cold iykwim?

I took him to the GP, who checked his breathing and looked in his ears ect and said if he's still getting loads of colds in a years time, I should take him back, but there's nothing they can do now and it's normal. Argh I'm so tired I can't cope with him being ill again!