Chronic ear and chest infections and random allergies in 4 year old

[Marylou47a]

Hello,

am looking to see if anyone has had something similar with their child. My youngest is 4 and a half and is ALWAYS ill.

he had bronchiolitis a few times when he was really little, between 6 months and 18 months he definitely had it 3 times when we had to take him to hospital, he wasnt admitted but was checked over and bronchiolitis confirmed. but I reckon he had it more than that but as it was Covid we were kinda put off taking him into hospital, knowing now what respiratory distress looks like there are definitely other times we should have taken him in.

in the last 2 years he has also been to hospital I think 6 times with respiratory distress, only properly admitted once for a day as they couldnt sort his breathing without oxygen, the other times he has been treated for hours in the bit before yoi get admitted with various lots of oxygen, nebulisers, oral steroids etc

he always gets discharged with a wheeze plan and blue inhaler. Last summer he was super wheezy over the summer and so the GP also gave him a brown inhaler for use 2 x a day. This has mostly stopped the ongoing wheezing and tight chest but he still gets awfullly chesty with a cold. 2 of the hospital trips have been in the last 6 months. The one where he was admitted was in october and they did discharge us after a day but the poor kid didnt recover from whatever he had for about two months, he had to have two lots of antibiotics, lost weight and looked dreadful the whole time.

the GP has said he may well have asthma but cant diagnose until he is 5 so they cant do all that much on that front at the moment.

on top of this he gets eczema and also often gets random allergic reactions to unknown things. He also flares up with crazy rashes when we go on holiday. We went to antigua recently and he was head to toe with a red rash and his eyes puffed up and the whole of his face went red, maybe some kind of reaction to the sunlight? Or heat?

in addition since about october he has had a recurrent ear infection which just will not budge. He has had various courses of antibiotics but it comes back very quickly and has come back again a week after another antibiotic course.

in amongst this stuff he has had so many other bugs and as soon as he gets any kind of cold he really struggles to breath, so even when we havent taken him to hospital he has still be really quite ill very often.

i have been in and out of the GPs surgery soooo many times and have had attendance letters from his school 😵‍💫 I have been pushing for some kind of referral but my GP is so dithery he doesn’t seem to know what to do.

He isnt sure whether it is a respiratory, ENT or general referal he should do. We were waiting on blood test results which have just come in but apparently dont flag anything outside of normal range. I had been wondering if he had some wierd immune disorder or something as he seems to catch everything and takes so long to get over but maybe not if his blood look normal.

i am basically just wondering if any other parents have had similar sets of symptoms with their kids and can give any guidance. The GP just seems a bit clueless and hesitant to refer as a result so I feel like I need to go to the next apt with a bit Of a plan.

any advice very gratefully received 🙏🏻

Do you know what blood test(s) it was?

@chaticat thanks for the reply, it was a full blood count

I should say he has also has really pale poo at different periods. My mum saw one on holiday and said that it wasn’t normal- she used to be a nurse when she was still working. They arent always pale though.

one thought I had was whether it might be something like cystic fibrosis.

It could be a combination of a few things. My daughter had recurrent ear infections and glue ear and was constantly unwell when your sons age. She would be in respiratory distress, but only when asleep. It was found to be obstructive sleep apnea so she had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her adenoids were huge and causing the repeated ear infections. Could this be going on with your son too? In addition to a developing asthma?

Interestingly, my daughter sometimes gets a rash from the sun too. No other allergies though.

I really hope you sort it. My children are a bit older now, but I remember what being in and out of hospital feels like. 💐

Has he been tested for allergies? This sounds a bit like my ds15 (multiple allergies, eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis). My son also has random allergic reactions with unknown trigger, always ill and similar symptoms to your child including the bright red face (looks like has been dunked in boiling water).

I would get a referral to allergies, but also sounds like he needs urgent help with his asthma which sounds dangerously unmanaged. Dermatology would be a good idea too.

Look up the 'atopic march' and the difference between IGE and non IGE allergic reactions. Its probably worth logging symptoms and foods to see if a pattern can be identified. I might be seeing things from my own lived perspective but sounds like allergy testing should be done especially considering his asthma is so severe.

Also House Dust mite is a major issue for my ds and is often for people with asthma and eczema. Might be worth considering taking steps to reduce House Dust mite in his bedroom (lots of info on sites like allergy Uk)

Hayfever makes infections worse for my children.

wiyh ear infections is the Gp swabbing it and seeing what is causing it and if prescribed antibiotic right treatment? If not that would be my first line approach. Then ask for hearing test and referral to audiology.