Constant illness - no cause identified. De register from school??

[Yetanothervirus]

Dd is now 8. Since she started nursery at 3 it has been constant illness. The first year I expected it and we had a lot . HFM, sickness bugs, constant fevers and coughs / colds.

All vaccines up to date and good diet/vitamins.

We decided to vaccinate for C Pox as well.

We also had roseola virus made her really really unwell and she was hospitalised 3 times with croup and ‘viral wheeze’

Since then it’s been relentless except for during lockdown. just years of illness. Every other week she suddenly gets another fever and virus.Since last September we’ve had x 2 sickness bugs, 1 ear infection, 3 throat infections (1 with a chest infection at same time) , A UTI and multiple heavy colds with fevers for the first 1-2 days.

The GP says ‘normal childhood illness’. I pushed for bloods. All normal. We went privately for an ENT assessment and no abnormality again we were told just childhood illness.

Attendance is 49%

Dont really know what to do except de register to stop this cycle

I’m going to make another gp appointment I think I’ll ask for more detailed bloods and mention that I’m considering de registering as I’m so desperate to stop her being unwell all the time.

No it’s only ever dd.

These illnesses seem to be one on top of the other, her body isn’t fully recovered before she gets something else poor thing. Is she ok by the end of the summer holidays? If so, how long does it take for her to get ill again? I hope you don’t think I’m being rude but how is her standard of hygiene? During the school day, does she thoroughly wash her hands before eating and after going to the toilet? The germs in school are rife and if she has poor hygiene coupled with low immunity then she will catch anything that’s there to be had. ☹️

Another thing I’ve noticed is she often gets what looks like a reaction when she is unwell a rash like hives and if she is very congested with a heavy cold her eyes get quite puffy. The GP said we can give Piriton for this but I worry that it’s not a typical reaction to a cold ?

She has told us that they always have to queue up to use the hand gel before lunch. She’s very good about washing hands after the toilet.

With that level of illness, it seems odd they haven't investigated primary immunodeficiencies
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17964-primary-immunodeficiency .

How's her height and weight doing? It would be worth starting to measure her height and weight and logging it every couple of months, you can get apps that will record it and plot it on standard growth charts for you. From experience that's one of the key warning signs they look for (DC3 has transient hypogammagobulinaria of infancy).

This sounds like an allergic reaction - could it be that rather than a cold? I had lots of allergies as a child and was constantly snotty, bunged up, rashy and wheezy (asthma) it could easily be mistaken for a cold.

My son, now 8, was very like this until he was about 5. He was constantly congested and really low and lacking in energy whenever he had a cold. Nursery attenance was virtually not even worth it. Dust mite allergy showed up on bloods. He went on daily prescribed antihistamine and steroid inhaler for viral wheeze. He now has v gd attendance. But I appreciate you already have explored allergies. Maybe you could try antihistamine when she has a cold? I would also push for more in depth blood tests or see a private Paediatrician to ask to be referred onto the nhs to have them done if the GP can't do anymore.

This is concerning, I would be asking for a Paeds referral

My DS gets repeated ear infections but he doesn’t tend to have a fever with them. It’s calpol and nursery unfortunately; I’d have lost my job long ago if I took time off to look after him every time he had an ear infection. He’s had one every month since December this year.

I would be pushing for a referral to a paediatrician rather than more blood tests (the paediatrician can order more tests). I think you need someone who will look in detail at the whole picture.

My DDs were the same, constant illness for years, low school attendance. Again always put down to childhood illnesses. Oldest was under the paediatrician for years and nothing ever to explain it, just unlucky.

Then my oldest was diagnosed with a form of under active thyroid at 11yo, her thyroid wasn’t actually working which was delaying puberty for her. It was only discovered by chance when trying to figure out something else that was happening to her. It means her antibodies are attacking her thyroid rather than her antibodies attacking infections.

I have also got several autoimmune conditions and again, spent my life having illness after illness, I’m constantly getting I need to eat healthier, take this and that vitimin. But really the last thing I need to do is boost my immune system. I was on immune suppressants for a while but I couldn’t handle the side effects. I’m taking a range of medications now which help manage my conditions.

Like your DD during covid was the healthiest time for everyone in our house, with the exception of actually getting covid which we for 6 times during lockdown, we as a family had never been healthier.

We are incredibly careful, hand washing, avoiding germs ( soft play is a killer for me), lots of basic hygiene around home and out and about.

The last thing I want is my DDs to miss out though, so we still attend events and do things, we just are extra vigilant. I will also avoid things in the run up to an important event so I’m not unwell. My oldest DD is the same to, she’s given the option as she’s at an age she can decide if she wants to risk exposing herself to anything then potentially missing something else.

My younger children were also very sickly when younger, slowly growing out of it, but this winter has been hard, we’ve had the attendance letters from school (which I ignore).

My advice, keep a diary so you can see trends and patterns and if you can maybe look at trying private. Most GPs just do generic testing and don’t always know what they are looking for ( words my consultants have said). Autoimmune conditions are very common and Drs are growing more knowledgeable about them.

Many ‘hand gels’ are not anti viral and are not effective against norovirus and some other faeco-oral transmitted viruses, so hand washing with soap and water before eating should be the rule. Logistically very difficult with school children before break and lunch time though.
Given the low attendance and near constant sub-optimal health, I would agree with pp’s and ask for more extensive blood tests and referral to the Community Paediatrician.
Are there any School Nurses these days to take an interest in youngsters who miss school due to illness, or is that another service that has disappeared?

I agree with minipie. I’d be pushing for a referral to a paediatrician too.

As an aside if you do decide to deregister (& who could blame you, health is the most important thing here) I suggest you join the HEFA facebook group (home education for all) and your local home ed FB group too. She can still get an education at home and no it won’t isolate her. There are thousands of home ed sessions/groups/activities/classes which you could start to attend in small doses to see how she goes.

I’d push for a referral. Or go private.

We had that too! A proper long course of antibiotics and antihistamines solved it + these 2 tips

• never drink anything lying down. Even for water at night he needs to sit up
• never block a nostril when blowing the nose

there’s something with how ENT things are more open in young kids and stuff can travel between them causing infections.

I’m going to ask if she can see a paediatrician

This sounds like an allergic reaction to me too. I’d try some antihistamines.
Also allergies, like hay fever or to school disinfectants/air fresheners can make you more susceptible to catching actual illnesses.

Does your daughter have allergies? I’d also be concerned over how many rounds of antibiotics she has had? Do you know? It’s possible they’ve wiped out her immune system(gut microbes) if she’s had several rounds.

The gut biome can easily be recolonised with probiotics, I agree though that multiple rounds can cause diarrhoea. As she has a dairy allergy, look for the soy based probiotics. They are often marketed as “vegan probiotics”

Would you consider stopping the multivitamin and mineral liquid for a few months?
I was in my 20s when I figured out I was intolerant to something (still not sure what exactly) in medicine. Not the active ingredients but something that makes the pill itself. Basically, some brands are ok and some really wreck my stomach and make me feel “run down”, although, technically the ingredients are the same.
Also, how accurate are the blood tests, if she’s taking a supplement? She might have some deficiencies as a symptom of an underlying issue that the supplements mask. For example, having iron levels at the lowest end of normal while already taking iron supplements is very different than without them.

Have you tried cutting out soy products previously? Because a lot of dairy allergy kids are also allergic to soy.

perhaps a good move is paediatrician and allergist. She may have more allergies

That sounds really difficult OP. My child had 50% attendance last year, it was exhausting. This year he's only had 6 days off.
Is your daughter well through the school holidays? If not, then school probably isn't the problem.

I agree with @bigbum7 can you get her a really good probiotic which is proven to reach the gut and try to really feed her gut through her diet. It will be really struggling after all the antibiotics and can have such a bad effect on overall health. I hope she comes out the other side soon it sounds so hard for all of you