What Is Going on with My 16 Month Old Daughter?

My son had the same thing about the same time and they dicovered that he had asthma. Bring it up to the pediatrician!

Hi J.,i went through this with my son when he was a baby.i felt like i was going crazy, i was at the dr's like once a week.he was always being diagognis with brociolitus and croup.so the dr.finally said he believed he had acute asthma.we had to buy a nebulizer and breathing treatments.it was horrible!!he always asked if we smoked in the house and we would ,but we would open the windows or stand by the door.funny thing is, when i quit smoking and made my husband smoke outside.it was all gone,no more problems!!i never had to use the nebulizer anymore and he grew out of the asthma.i'm sorry,but kids do not get sick from going outside!! the colds and all that is brought to them.i worked in child care for 2yrs. and found that to be very true!!well hope i could be of some help and good luck!! a little about me:i'm a SAHM of 5 children and i've been married for 10 yrs. always open to advice and have a good listening ear!

First of all, let your fiance know that you don't get sick from cold air. In fact, getting fresh air, even if it's cold, is good for you, especially in the winter months when we're all stuck inside festering in our germs. Just be vigilant when using public items like shopping carts, and wipe them down and wash your hands when you leave, hand sanitizing gel and wipes should be an important item in the diaper bag. Has your pediatrician said anything about allergies or asthma? I think you're right to be concerned by the never-ending respiratory infections. I know croup, my son gets it every year, usually twice and he's almost 5. I would ask your pediatrician if there's an underlying cause for the repeated illnesses, but don't assume that there's something seriously wrong just because your first child never gets sick, there's a lot of contributing factors. My first child got sick more than my second, probably because he was around alot of other kids in child care, but I have stayed home since my daughter was born. Congrats on the wedding - that's my anniversary!

It seems like in every family there is one kid that will always get sick very easily and when they do it is bad. Growing up it was my sister. Now I have two boys of my own, 2yrs and 10 mo. We just got over a terrible battle with rsv and ear infections and flu bugs with my 2 yr old, to the point that he was hospitalized. My 10 mo old barely got a mild case of the rsv and a 48 hr flu bug. We have since started giving both the boys an herbal supplement called Sambucol, you can get it at gnc. It is an anti-viral and helps bould up the immune system to fight off viruses and can actually shorten the length of your cold or flu if it is taken early enough. So far this seems to be helping my boys. As far as taking your baby out with you, try to avoid it as much as possible because there are so many germs out there. If you have to go to the store try & do it when your fiance is home & can watch the girls, if you have to take them to the bank or anywhere that has a drive through use the drive through. make sure that you cover the baby's head with a blanket taking her in & out of the car to keep the col air & wind from hitting her. Cold air & wind does not cause any medical condition on their own but the can cause a cold to develop into something worse like ear infections and pneumonia.

J.:

I have a son, now 12, that I STILL have problems with. My first two children had the ocassional ear infection and runny, but then I had Dalton...holy cow it was a whole new experience for me! As a young infant, Dalton was rushed TWICE to the emergency room for RSV. At least twice a year we go through bouts of either bronchitis or pneumonia with him. He is "prone" to lower respiratory infections. He has never been diagnosed with asthma, yet his pediatrian has him carry an albuterol inhaler with him because of his chronic respiratory infections. I have five children, so during the winter there is at least one sick child in my house at all times -- I don't usually worry about it too much, we pass out the cold meds, run the vaporizer and do what we can...until it hits Dalton! I know that every time he catches a cold it's more than likely going to result into a trip to the doctors. Just two weeks ago he was seen and diagnosed with croup/bronchitis. We walked out of the office with FIVE prescriptions that needed to be filled. The best advice I can give you...talk to your doctor! Ask questions! If your daughter continues to get pneumonia you need to know what is causing it! Look, I'm not a physician, but I've read article after article after article about lower respiratory infections and not once have I seen where it says that taking a child out in the cold will cause this! It's a serious condition though and you really do need to get some professional answers. I'm sending you a link to a website that might help you figure out what kind of quesitons you need to ask your pediatrician...perhaps you should even consider asking for a referral to see a specialist.

http://www.pediatriconcall.com/FORDOCTOR/DiseasesandCondi...

Hi J.. I would go see the Dr and not leave there. I have a 4 y/o also and she is sick when my baby is, we all get sick around the same time. It seems that your youngest must be overly susceptible to getting sick for some reason. I would go to the Dr and find out why b/c it doesn't sound like she is just getting a common winter cold. Good Luck!

Hi J., this is D. Y. Are your daughters in daycare or around other kids who are also sick? Sometimes my family of 4 seems to pass sickness back and forth. My 7 year old son has had walking pneumonia and several colds too. This crazy weather could also be the culprit. I am no doc, but as long as your children are bundled up they should be alright. Do you give them vitamins? I give mine Winnie the Pooh Gummies, they love them! I heard the Sears' pediatricians on Oprah say the week after Halloween is their busiest because the more sugar kids eat the weaker their immune systems are. There are several things in food that can cause those symptoms too. You could slowly switch to organic foods to see if that makes a difference. Good luck!
D. Y.

J.,
I would agree that the germs are worse this time of the year, however, children with lung issues are a little more at "risk" with the common cold. I have a 5 yr old daughter who has had croup two times a year since she was 6 months old. She also has had pheumonia and other lung sicknesses. I have asthma and I know it is hereditary, so I was concerned she also had it. I ended up taking her to a pediatric allergy/ asthma specialist. She was too young to "officially" diagnose but they started treating her with some asthma meds. It just started with an inhaler with a mouth piece when she was younger. As she got older, they started her on maintence meds and now her asthma is under control. That is unless she gets sick, which is a lot less than before. At that time, we fall back on the inhaler. I would do some research on asthma and see if that might fit what your daughter is experiencing.
Good luck!!!

Hi J.! I am not a medical expert, but I had a little one who went through somewhat of the same thing, although he was a little older when it started. It started when he was 2 1/2. He got bronchitis 3 times in one year, repeated ear infections, chronic runny nose, froggy throat and voice...just to name a few of the symptoms. I was CONSTANTLY at the doctor with him. He was sick, but not enough for anyone to really take a closer look at him. I was very frustrated to say the least. He is the third of my children and I am not a mom who runs to the doctor for no reason, but I was pretty sure something was going on. It just didn't seem normal to me that my son was so sick all the time and it definately didn't seem healthy for him to always be down with a "cold". Well finally my insurance changed and I was able to take him to see a different ear, nose and throat doctor. Immediately he wanted me to take my son to a pulminoligist. He has allergy induced asthma. He is allergic to dust, mold, dogs and milk. We started him on breathing treatments at night and made some adjustments to our lifestyle and he is much better. It's not to say he still doesn't get stuffed up now and then, but he is a different child. I am not sure how young they diagnose kids with this type of asthma, but it might be something to do a little research on the internet about. This type of asthma has never caused my son to have an "attack" that required him to use an emergency inhaler. It does not affect him playing sports. (He is 6 now). Honestly, when someone looked at him and said...I know what is wrong with him and I can help you make him better, I wanted to cry...I was so happy. Good luck...I hope you can figure out what is going on!

My 13-month son has about the same kind of winter: started with pneumonia and croup, then ear infection, then bronchitis, then a cold! It's hard for me b/c I've never been a sick person, but my husband was a very sick kid.
Our doctor keeps telling me that some kids just get sick more than others. Which sucks, but what can you do? We HAVE to leave the house sometimes! Anyway, he's gotten sick when he's been around no one other my me and my husband.
Hang in there! Spring has to get here eventually!

Hi there,

Poor thing..she may have allergies, possibly to something in your home..have you asked your dr? If you havent, I'd try that. Maybe give her a little benedryl (I cant remember what is out there my kids are older now)
for kids if they have it and see if it works or get her out of the house for a few days to see if there is a change. Good luck!

hi J.....have u asked the doc about using a humidifier? it worked for me!

I have a 16 month old son, and he is sick all the time too...my doc said its just from all the germies that get brought home from everyone else...school, daycare, or work places......I am praying for spring and wellness...hang in there, I feel your pain

J.,
It could be that your daughter has Asthma, or allergies. Some kids are just prone to this stuff. My son was and still is. I really don't think taking her out in the cold will do it. It is an old wives tale so to speak.

My son was the same way. We had to have his adnoids out because he also had asthma, which meant every time he got congested, it went into his lungs and he ended up with pnemonia or bronchitis. He always had sinus infections, which in turn lead to ear infections. We had his anoids out in Feb. of 05...THIS WINTER HAS BEEN WONDERFUL!!!! We have not had any major problems, not even asthma attacks. I'm not saying that's your solution, but start talking to the doc. about how to prevent things when you go in to see them.
Have you tried giving children's claritin, or asking the doc about singulair....they are every day med's that would help keep the congestion at bay. Also, a multi vitimin with extra C...we gave my son a half of a regular childrens vitimin every day year round.

I don't have time to read all of the other responses but we had the same problem with our 2 year old. We were at the dr.'s every month (no lie) because once she got over one thing it was another that she was sick with it seemed, this has been going on since she was a few months old! Finally a family friend who is a PA reccommended that we take her to an allergy & athmsa ped. spec. Sure enough, she has allergies and allergy induced asthma. Little ones don't really have major wheezing like adults when it comes to asthma, they just cough alot & especially at night. If your little one has the following symptoms maybe you should talk to your doc about an A&A spec.
* coughing at night when asleep
* mouth breathing when sleeping
* constant runny nose, year round
* excema
* family history of allergies

These are just a few, but if she does have some of them it is always an option, it wouldn't hurt anything to make sure. Dr. Kishore is fantastic! He is In Children's Hospital. If you would like more information on what they do and the questions they ask PLEASE DON"T HESITATE to send me a message, I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. P.S. my daughter is a different person now and it's only been a week! No more constant whinning! She is so much happier and playful now!

I agree with Kelly. It's most likely from touching things when out running errands. Shopping carts are some of the nastiest things out there. Either use one of those wipes, or put a cover over the hand bar.

Doorknobs, money and all sorts of other things that you touch with your hands and don't give a second thought to have germs that cause illnesses.

Wash her and your hands frequently and just hang on. It'll work itself out. Also, if you don't already, give her a daily vitamin.

Have you ever thought about taking her to a chiropractor? I am a doctor of chiropractic and we have many, many children that come to get adjusted. Chiropractic has been known to help some children with things like ear infections, allergies and even colic. You have to remember that it is the nerves that control every part of our bodies, even the parts responsible for immune function!! I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

I'm sorry your little one is sick. It's hard when they are so small. I have a 7 year old boy who was always sick. It was like he had a cold that started the minute the weather cooled down and ended when it warmed up. He also had pneumonia and wheezed alot. A few months ago we found out he has asthma. Now that he is on meds for asthma he is so much better. I can't tell you what is wrong with your daughter. I only know it sounds like my son. My advice to you is talk to her doctor. Let them know how concerned you are. If the doctor examines her and she is fine, you will feel better. If there is a problem, it is better to know now so you can take what ever steps needed to help her get healthy again.

Hi!

Totally do not beat yourself up over this. It is not your fault. Some kids are just more prone to getting these types of things. My kids are constantly getting colds. The more they are around other kids the more likely it will occur. My doctor says that it is common for young children to have lots of colds. It will build their immunity for when they are older. Germs are everywhere. Despite our best efforts we can't live in a bubble.