My son getting sick every month

S

sandy0741

Registered User
Hi there,
My son has been sick again this week, again same - coughing, which is dry

Since he started K2, he has been sick every one month, and usually takes 1 week to 2 to recover, always developing fever later on, just worried about him, as he used to be quite healthy when he was in K1, never fallen sick , might be just once for the whole year, but it's just terrible this year, don't really know if he picked up the flu from his classmates or something else. As anyone got any thoughts about it?
 
normal.... both of my kids are the same...actually, this year, it's happening to hubby and i, too. it seems to be working its way around the house in a circle and then it starts all over again....
 
sound right....we have bought air purifiers for the home but I think that's more psychological than anything. school is where they get most germs but i think it's fine -just keep an eye out. also when they have a fever it's also meant to be a sign that there body is growing.
 
Is it the "Hong Kong Cough" or something more?

The pollution over the last six weeks has been rather bad (today's rain is having the much needed effect of tamping it down a bit). There is a dry or light phlegm cough that sounds a bit like a smoker's cough that can develop from this air, and additionally the pollution can weaken your child's immunity such that when they do go to K2 they are more likely to catch something from another child.

We're in the same boat. Our eldest lived from birth to age 3 without so much as a fever back in the US. But since moving to HK we've had one or the other child sick at least once a month (youngest currently has a dry cough--eldest has been good for nearly 3 weeks now knock on wood).

Air filters are a good idea, and spend the extra bit to get a good HEPA-quality one (IQ Air's are a bit expensive, Alen's are good and not as pricey). Also lots of hand-washing after school and all that. You might also check to see if they are uptodate on their flu shots (H1N1 this year made an appearance a few months ago in HK but subsided, but is growing quickly in the UK at present so we might see a comeback here as well).

Good luck.
 
I have the same problem too with my 2 boys. They come home sick from school than they give it from each other. The cough and fever lasts for a week. Now I am getting it too.
 
Thanks all for your reply, at least I know I am not the only one out there with a baby falling sick every month.

Dear penguinsix,
The airpurifiers are available from Fortrex, aren't they? I am going to check out today to buy one, but i am not so sure about the flu shots, do you think they are really so effective, since there's always different virus around us. I was thinking how I should raise my son's immunity so he would not be so easily affected by different diseases
 
I agree, it is better to raise the kids immunity. Make sure they have a good multi vitamin. I give extra vitamin C at the first sign of a cold and also echinacea. My daughter has been taking half a teaspoon of turmeric in 1/4 of warm milk before bed and this has helped too. May not keep them 100% cold free but it will hopefully not escalate to the point of fever and needing medication.
 
Hi sunrays,

Which vitamin C do you give to your child? Is it ok for a 4 year old? How about the tumeric that you mention, where did you get it, from a doctor or over the dispensary?
 
You should really seek your pediatrician's advice before starting your young child on a bunch of vitamins and herbal supplements - too much of some of these actually be quite harmful for little bodies (for example, it is easy to overdo the amount of iron your kid gets).

Re: the flu shot, it is highly effective in preventing the seasonal FLU, but will not protect against most cold viruses. There is a BIG difference between a cold virus and a flu virus. The flu is almost always accompanied by a high fever and is much more dangerous for a small child, the elderly and others with lower immunity. Not sure if doctors in HK give children as young as four annual flu shots (which btw are changed yearly to cover current strains of the virus), but it's worth getting your pediatrician's view on whether it is appropriate for your child.

Cara's advice above is good - it is common for children to catch all kinds of stuff this time year. One of the best things you can do for your child at this age to prevent the spread of germs is teach good hand washing hygiene manners. Wash hands (correctly and with soap) every time you touch your face, each time you come inside from playing, after coughing/ sneezing, after toilet, before meals, etc.
 
My Daughter is 4 too and I give her half a tablet of Redoxon with zinc sugar free orange chewable tablets. You can get them from Mannings or Watsons. If she is very sick I will give a whole tablet. If you give too much they will get a bit of diarrhea. They taste good too. Turmeric however doesn't. It is a spice used in Indian cooking. I just get it from Jason's ...Spice Island is the best brand we have found here. as I said, it does not taste good but my daughter is so used to taking natural medicines she doesn't make any fuss.
 
Babies/kids can start having the annual flu vaccine from 6 months according to my paed, although they have it in 2 doses when they are under a year old. I have had both my 19 month and 6 month sons vaccinated against flu. They have runny noses and coughs seemingly constantly. I put Vicks or Karvol on their chest and feet before they go to bed if they have a cold and that seems to help. I know the feet thing sounds weird but it seems to work!
 
sandy0741 said:
Dear penguinsix,
The airpurifiers are available from Fortrex, aren't they? I am going to check out today to buy one, but i am not so sure about the flu shots, do you think they are really so effective, since there's always different virus around us. I was thinking how I should raise my son's immunity so he would not be so easily affected by different diseases
Click to expand...

We bought our air filters online direct from Alen's website. I don't know if they are carried at any retail places nearby. I've seen the IQAir at Bumps to Babies, but you can expect to pay a pretty penny. They really are high end.

We get the flu shot annually, as they change the strains that comprise the shot every season. That said there are still plenty of other things that they seem to catch, but I prefer to play it safe and get the vaccine rather than have them suffer through a bout of the flu, which in rare but not non-existant cases can be extremely dangerous.

There is a good doctor's blog that I read frequently that had an article about 'boosting' the immune system and how it is a bit of a misnomer. Still (despite their sarcasm) they did recommend the basic healthy precepts of a good diet, clean house, clean hands, lower stress, etc.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=1828

Time to go crank up the filters to full power. Today's air is really quite atrocious.
 
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