My son has missed 40+ days of school.

[Anonymous]

My kids did not go to daycare, but rarely fell sick when they started to go to school.

I feel sorry for your kid. Poor thing.

[Anonymous]

This screams immune system issues to me, whether it be an allergy or an autoimmune disorder.

OP, I would seek a second opinion from a pediatrician and maybe fine a pediatric immuniologist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for the excellent suggestions - I do have pets, the house gets deep-cleaned once per month, but our carpets definitely need to be replaced. We don't mask at stores, but that's a good idea. I might try to start doing that. My son does have a very good social life, but getting sick every two weeks is really, really dragging me down. I've asked his doctor, and she said: "Kids get sick in September and get better sometime in May."

Absurd. Time for a new doctor.

+1 and most of the illnesses are not keeping kids or of school. As PPs are saying, runny nose and mild cough etc is common and drags on. A day of an ear infection, 2 days for strep like once a year. Not 40 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have Crohn's disease?

-
+1 I was also thinking this could be mistaken for GI bugs. Though I'm surprised a gastroenterologist wouldn't think of it.

OP you don't have to share what you took meds for in pregnancy but whatever that issue is could be genetic. Hope you have shared that with the doctors

[Anonymous]

I'd definitely getting a second opinion.

[Anonymous]

Agree that time for new doctor. Too many absences - time to make this priority and doc #1's brusque or flippant style is a no go.

[Anonymous]

You need to be very diligent and focused on getting his medical issue diagnosed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This screams immune system issues to me, whether it be an allergy or an autoimmune disorder.

OP, I would seek a second opinion from a pediatrician and maybe fine a pediatric immuniologist.

I agree. This is not typical and you should be more aggressive about seeking out a doctor who will take this seriously.

My brother has a rare immune disease that wasn’t diagnosed for decades. He, like your son, was always coming down with something and time and time again my parents’ concerns were brushed off and doctors subtly put blame back on my parents or him claiming naturally weak immune system, must be poor diet etc etc etc

When he finally got his diagnosis in his early 20s it changed his life. With treatment he can live normally without coming down with every flu, cold, and stomach bug. I’m still angry it took so long, he suffered so many years thinking he must be doing something wrong

[Anonymous]

I've seen this both ways. Sometimes, for the first 2-3 years of being in a school setting, a kid truly does get sick enough to miss school every few weeks, and the atopic kids tend to be sick longer than their non atopic classmates- these are the kids that are always needing steroids, or albuterol, every time they get sick for example. So that can be a real drag for those first few years and it's possible you're just at the tail end of those years. But i've also seen parents bring their kids into clinic and be like "oh she's been home with a sore throat the past 4 days and school needs us to get a doctor's note" and their 8 year old is clearly bouncing off the walls, playing, feeling fine in my office. To which I'm like, she should be in school TODAY, not in my office for you to get her a school note for the past week, she's fine today. And it makes me question how much they're letting the kid stay home when they're perfectly fine to be in school. And then of course there are the kids with true autoimmune or immune issues that are not yet diagnosed who need much more of a workup. If your doctor thinks you're sort of in camp 2.... or, if they think you're in camp 1 (you'd know this because your kid would have a 3 week cough every time he got sick and you'd have multiple urgent care or ER visits for nebs and steroids).... then there might not be any cause for concern right now, but they should still be doing their due diligence to make sure your kid isn't in camp 3, and doing a better job of communicating to you why they think theyr'e not in camp 3.

[Anonymous]

I have three children who were disgusting. Like sucking your thumb after touching public places disgusting (I tried to stop it but couldn’t in time). And they are never ever sick. Oldest is now 11 and youngest is 6. Each kid was out of school once this year for a sickness for a total of 1 day per kid.

I am sorry you are going through this. I would definitely go see a specialist. Being out of school for 40 days is not normal.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure it’s not a food allergy? Track what he’s eating and see if there’s a pattern for when he gets sick. One of my kids has alpha gal and it took 2 years to diagnose. The GI issues arise 4-8 hours after consuming something he can’t have.
Otherwise I think you need to drill into him not to touch his face. Never touch his mouth or nose. Wash his hands like crazy. Other than airborne illnesses, he must be getting the germ is into his nose or mouth somehow.

[Anonymous]

My kid who missed tons of school due to illness had PFAPA.

https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=pfapa-syndrome-160-111

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also -
1 zinc lozenge in the morning when going to school during cold and cough season. You can also grind up pumpkin seeds and nuts and add in their milk. Adequate zinc and vitamin C prevents colds.

1/4 dose from a vial of os cillo coc cinum at the very first sign of any symptom - sneeze, sore throat, slight fever, body ache, lethargy, shivers or chills.

I too am not a doctor but I have used this on my own kids and it made a tremendous difference to their health. Oh, also, make sure that they are up to date with their immunizations etc.

Sorry you sound like a whack job. No one is doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hygiene and prevention.

- Do you have cats or dogs at home? -- Zoonotic diseases can transfer from animals to people. And many kids have allergic reactions to pet hair, feces and dander.

- Have you checked for Mold? Someone who smokes? -- These can be irritants for children and weaken their immune system

- Do you wash bed-linen every week? Vacuum the beds to remove dust mites? Vacuum the carpets regularly? Change the filter? Have RO installed for your drinking water? - Again, all of this is to reduce pathogens from the environment.

- Do your kids shower at night? Do they dry their hair completely? Do they keep warm while sleeping? - This is to encourage cleanliness. Keep the body temperature steady and prevent catching chill. And helping with immunity.

- Do your kids wash their hands with soap and water? Do you have a no-shoes indoors policy at home? Do you clean or get your home cleaned regularly? - This will encourage cleanliness and prevent diseases by keeping the pathgen load less.

- Do your kids change their toothbrush every 2 months or after every illness? Do they keep their toothbrush outside the bathroom so that fecal droplets do not land on their tooth brush when toilet is flushed? - Reduce pathogens.

Personal habits and diet -
1) Make sure that they are doing salt water gargles every day. They should also scrape their tongue with a copper tongue cleaner every day after brushing their teeth. Must brush their teeth twice a day. Do they have throat stones?
2) Lots of vegetables and fruits, good quality protein etc every day. Hydrate with at least 5 glasses of water every day.
3) 1/2 teaspoon of good quality Manuka Honey every day.
4) Everyone in the family wears face mask at public places like grocery stores and costco.
5) A shot of 2 ounces of warm milk, a pinch of black pepper, and 1/4 tsp of turmeric every day in the morning.
6) Yogurt (plain) every day.
7) 1/2 teaspoon of black-strap molasses every day.
8) Pomegranate and carrot juice (2 - 4 ounce) every day.

You sound insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being in daycare delayed his immunity.

STFU. It is fake news.

Why does this simple statement bother you so much?

Children in daycare get more colds as a toddler. Children who don’t go to daycare get more colds their first few few years of school.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/early-daycare-tied-to-school-age-health-1.931019

Neither is better or worse.

Stop taking everything so personally