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Baby is always sick - how to strengthen immune system
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 8:46 pm
My baby just turned one. He has been sick non stop since the end of October.

First it was strep that everyone else had and the doctors wouldn't test or treat him because 'it will go away by itself'
That turned into an rsv cold that dragged on and turned into viral pneumonia. We started antibiotics then stopped when we got the viral results.
Which turned into bacterial pneumonia 2 weeks later. So we started antibiotics again.
That turned into a terrible cough and then a week later he caught the flu and still has a terrible cough and he just got an ear infection.

I've been at the doctor at least twice a week the past two months.

Every time he gets sick, it takes him much longer than the other kids to recover. He's weak, has no appetite and seems to be in pain every time he coughs.

I'm running a humidifier at ~50% humidity.
I tried giving him elderberry and didn't see any difference. Anything else I can try?

He's already taking probiotics with the antibiotics. What else can boost his immune system?

Thank you in advance!
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amother
Obsidian


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:07 pm
Diet diet diet. Eliminate all the inflammatory foods like suGar, dairy, gluten, food dyes. That will free up the immune system to regulate itself and actually fight infections. Lots of fermented foods. The gut is the seat of the immune system. The elderberry might not be that great, for some kids it’s stimulates their immune system too much, and they react to illnesses with hyper immune responses. They need more immune regulation. Magnesium and b vitamins are great for that, whole food vitamin c is a good immune regulator.

Also, hate to say this on this forum, but maybe put vaccinating him on hold.

You want to support lungs and get fluids draining properly so not every little sniffle turns into pneumonia and ear infections. Again, eliminating inflammatory foods will help make sure everything drains properly. Craniosacral is also super gentle and helpful for this.
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amother
Foxglove


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:14 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
My baby just turned one. He has been sick non stop since the end of October.

First it was strep that everyone else had and the doctors wouldn't test or treat him because 'it will go away by itself'
That turned into an rsv cold that dragged on and turned into viral pneumonia. We started antibiotics then stopped when we got the viral results.
Which turned into bacterial pneumonia 2 weeks later. So we started antibiotics again.
That turned into a terrible cough and then a week later he caught the flu and still has a terrible cough and he just got an ear infection.

I've been at the doctor at least twice a week the past two months.

Every time he gets sick, it takes him much longer than the other kids to recover. He's weak, has no appetite and seems to be in pain every time he coughs.

I'm running a humidifier at ~50% humidity.
I tried giving him elderberry and didn't see any difference. Anything else I can try?

He's already taking probiotics with the antibiotics. What else can boost his immune system?

Thank you in advance!


OP this can be me writing this! Same age same story since he caught the RSV in June it is non-stop. BH I found the probiotics to help and I eliminated dairy also.
With you in this hatzlacha! Hug
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:21 pm
amother [ Obsidian ] wrote:
Diet diet diet. Eliminate all the inflammatory foods like suGar, dairy, gluten, food dyes. That will free up the immune system to regulate itself and actually fight infections. Lots of fermented foods. The gut is the seat of the immune system. The elderberry might not be that great, for some kids it’s stimulates their immune system too much, and they react to illnesses with hyper immune responses. They need more immune regulation. Magnesium and b vitamins are great for that, whole food vitamin c is a good immune regulator.

Also, hate to say this on this forum, but maybe put vaccinating him on hold.

You want to support lungs and get fluids draining properly so not every little sniffle turns into pneumonia and ear infections. Again, eliminating inflammatory foods will help make sure everything drains properly. Craniosacral is also super gentle and helpful for this.


Thanks for the information.

I haven't given him his most recent shots because he's always sick.

His basic diet now is diced fruit, cereal, bread, pasta, applesauce, Leben and chicken cutlets.

If I remove sugar, dairy, and gluten, we're down to fruit and chicken cutlets. What kinds of fermented foods can I give a one year old? What else can I feed him?

For the Magnesium and vitamins, should I give as supplements or is that by picking foods that have high levels of those vitamins?
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amother
Winterberry


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:27 pm
this is horrible advice. Talk to your pediatrician about vaccines and diet, not this lady.
Also, all the illnesses - that’s how they build their immune system. It drove me nuts but my kids were like this too.

“Also, hate to say this on this forum, but maybe put vaccinating him on hold.

You want to support lungs and get fluids draining properly so not every little sniffle turns into pneumonia and ear infections. Again, eliminating inflammatory foods will help make sure everything drains properly. Craniosacral is also super gentle and helpful for this.[/quote]”
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amother
Obsidian


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:27 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Thanks for the information.

I haven't given him his most recent shots because he's always sick.

His basic diet now is diced fruit, cereal, bread, pasta, applesauce, Leben and chicken cutlets.

If I remove sugar, dairy, and gluten, we're down to fruit and chicken cutlets. What kinds of fermented foods can I give a one year old? What else can I feed him?

For the Magnesium and vitamins, should I give as supplements or is that by picking foods that have high levels of those vitamins?
Very often removing gluten and dairy will help expand their palate. You can try substituting with coconut milk yogurt, gluten free pasta breads and cereals, but ideally you want a more nutrient dense diet. I would try to add in sweet potatoes, squashes, beans, nuts. For fermented foods maybe kefir would work? Fermented pickles, string beans, sauerkraut. Also lots of high quality fats like olive oil, avocado, coconut oil.

You can give him a few drops of magnesium chloride in some juice.
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miami85




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:38 pm
I'm going to go out on a limb and say "exposure, exposure, exposure". Our immune systems were designed to be tested, and we have been mostly isolated from others and everything is being sanitized and our immune system never has a chance to react, so it's reacting to everything. My kids have been fairly healthy throughout their lives --few viruses here and there especially those that were "going around" but B"H not too many sick visits and I can probably count how many times each kid has had antibiotics. Then suddenly my 11 year old started breaking out randomly and my pediatrician said that it was due to lack of exposure to germs so his skin was being hypersensitive. Especially the under-2 crowd which hasn't had as many germ exposures as kids born pre-pandemic are likely getting sick more often. I have a 2 year-old who has B"H been pretty healthy, but she has 4 other siblings who likely share germs with her and she also goes to a playgroup.

With all the measures taken to prevent Covid, they have not eliminated cold, flu, strep and last year when my kids were wearing masks all day in school, they all got colds and a stomach bug that went around, so not sure why the CDC thinks Covid will ever suddenly "go away" but being exposed to germs forces our immune system to react and that's how it gets stronger.
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amother
Obsidian


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 9:53 pm
I think to some extent kids being sick a lot at that age is normal. I’m not advocating for sterility or even avoidance BUT I think supporting the immune system can’t hurt. A virus is normal, but a virus turning into pneumonia is already dysregulated. A healthy immune system can fight off an upper respiratory virus without it settling lower down. An ear infection may be normal but Back to back recurrent ear infections are a sign of fluid backup and also an immune system that doesn’t work so well.
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oakandfig19




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:00 pm
I wonder if the antibiotics threw off his immune system? Have you had bloodwork done? Maybe vitamin d would help but I would suggest getting blood work before supplementing unless you know he’s not getting it in his diet
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amother
Olive


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:21 pm
I have Same issue with my two year old. He’s been on more antibiotics in the last two months I can’t even count. He had ear infections few times, flu, covid, viruses … going to immunologist as the er doctor Recomended we do
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amother
Glitter


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:24 pm
amother [ Olive ] wrote:
I have Same issue with my two year old. He’s been on more antibiotics in the last two months I can’t even count. He had ear infections few times, flu, covid, viruses … going to immunologist as the er doctor Recomended we do

Antibiotics for ear infections or other things?
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amother
Olive


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:33 pm
Ear infections, one time high wbc which they couldn’t figure out where the infection was from. Now he has covid and has fluid still from last ear infection, I was planning to start by a chiropractor but I can’t take him with covid. I wish I knew how else to prevent the runny nose from backing up.
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amother
Seafoam


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:39 pm
Is his daycare sanitizing and cleaning enough?
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lossetes




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:42 pm
kyolic garlic drops
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octopus




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:42 pm
I'm all for vaccinating. But when a kid is sick of course you don't give vaccines! My pediatrician won't give either if a kid is nonstop sick. Common sense 101.
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amother
Glitter


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:44 pm
amother [ Olive ] wrote:
Ear infections, one time high wbc which they couldn’t figure out where the infection was from. Now he has covid and has fluid still from last ear infection, I was planning to start by a chiropractor but I can’t take him with covid. I wish I knew how else to prevent the runny nose from backing up.

How high the wbc? (Asking because we just went through this)
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amother
Olive


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 10:49 pm
Wbc I think was like 32,000
Sorry op I didn’t mean to take over your post. It’s so hard when you have a child constantly sick, I feel for you!
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Wed, Dec 29 2021, 11:28 pm
Is he in daycare? If so he might need to take a daycare vacation for a few weeks. My eldest got so sick in daycare, one thing after another (started at 14 months or so) that my pediatrician had me take him out for a month of sick leave basically. He needed to fully recover.

What happens is that they are sick. They get sort of better, but their immune system isn't fully ready yet for the next thing. But because of daycare, they catch the next virus and they can't properly fight it off. If they get a chance to fully recover then their bodies can properly fight the next virus coming along.

Definitely speak to your doctor. Get week soon!
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wifenmother




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 30 2021, 12:07 am
Vitamin D. It's available in drops for infants.

Eliminating dairy also helps many.
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amother
Bone


 

Post Thu, Dec 30 2021, 1:27 am
Just sharing things I wish I had known. Diet changes mentioned.( Removing gluten and dairy) and cranio sacral work. . My kids are older now and I see what Works and what I wish I had done earlier.
It does seem overwhelming. First add foods before you take away. So for a baby / toddler , add loads of veggies sweet potato/ squashes/ carrots/ broccoli/ cauliflower / pre soaked beans / chick peas Once he is eating other foods it will be easier to remove.
Dairy is hard to remove bc yogurt and cheese are so easy.
Small steps.
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