DD has been ill for 5 months straight...

[mummymummypony]

She is 3 and has had a cough or cold or flu or virus for 5 months with no break. She has been to the GP a few times and seen a health visitor recently. Her temperature has never been high enough to be seriously concerned and I have been told that this is normal at this age. She had an ear infection two weeks ago and she has a horrible cough that gets worse at night. The cough has been with her for months but has gotten worse in the last few weeks. She came to me last night crying with pain in her ear so I rushed to the GP for an emergency appointment. She wouldn't allow the GP to take a good look in her ear but there didn't appear to be any discharge and I was advised that it might be glue ear. The pain seems to go with painkillers. Her eyes are red underneath and irritating her too. She tells me that her eyes are itchy when she wakes up in the morning but there is no discharge. They are clearly irritated though. I have another appointment for her to see the GP on Friday but I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if it really is possible for a 3 year old to be ill for this long in this way.

Similar ish here.

Ds is also 3 and has had an ongoing cough since November. Various virus's, chest/ear infections. raised temps etc.. When checked over it's normally viral but ears are red . He is unsettled at night, i think from mucus running down his throat, and he has a horrible throat noise he makes. But he only coughs lots in the mornings...but it has been every morning since november. (posted this morning..'morning cough' )
We have a non emergency appointment for 10 days time. Will be interesting to hear what comes of your daughters appointment.

Thanks for the reply opipjo! Yup, your son's symptoms sound identical to my dad. She also has the red ears Every other day. I will let you know what the GP says.

My DD*

I would be considering allergies.
Do you have any pets?
Does anyone in the house smoke? Even if they only smoke outside, the allergens cling to clothing and furniture.
Do you have a gas boiler and if so, do you have a carbon monoxide detector?

Sorry - posted too soon.
Also consider washing powder and fabric softener, house dust mites - these live in mattresses and soft toys and can cause allergic reaction.

I agree with the poster above and to consider allergies, food and/or environmental.

You could try giving her an age appropriate dose of piriton and see if she seems better or if the itching goes.

I would ask for referral to ENT specialist. DS1 was like that for months until he got grommets and the change was immediate.

I hope your appointment went ok?

I've bought some piriton to give me son before bed, to see if that elimates the cough/mucus.

Also, a blood test might not be a bad idea. Just to see if there are any clearer indicators of what is wrong and to help rule out the possibility of any (more serious) underlying conditions.

In answer to your question it can be very normal for a 3 year old to get a (seemingly) endless string of infections, esp over the winter. Ds1 was the worst - 10 ear infections (bad ones) in 10 months, plus endless viruses. That winter was the worst, I was down at the doctors once every 2 weeks on average (every time his eardrum ruptured they asked to see him again to check healing, then it would start again). By the March I swore that if he was ill once more I was taking both kids to the Mediterranean for a month til they weren't ill anymore. In the end I was pricing flights and accommodation and spring came and it all stopped. Awful year.

Anyway keep going back to the doctor if you need to but what you are describing is something I've experienced and witnessed in quite a few children.

Did you try the piriton, and did it help? I know it's early but is a possibility of hayfever, I've been suffering with it since end of January! Another in the allergy list is any food allergies / intolerances; dairy and wheat being usual culprits, the irritated tissues making child more susceptible to colds / viruses etc

Adara presuming you are in the UK, you have not been suffering from hayfever as no grasses are yet flowering (beginning of May at the earliest). Likewise no tree pollen until the end of March and then only in the far south. You need to look elsewhere for the cause of your allergies.

Barbarian Would be great to find something else, but happens same time most years and I don't have any other allergies / intolerances that could be, even GP says it's hayfever shrugs

Your GP is wrong (I don't know much about medicine but I do know about trees and grasses). Having said that, it is likely something environmental - my mum has the same and we've never been able to track it down. We joke that she is allergic to snowdrops but I've always wondered about winter crops and sprays. Anyway allergy is allergy so treatment is the same regardless.