4 year old girl keeps getting sick?!
Question: Shes been almost consistently sick for weeks w/ different symptoms.
Shes been on antibiotics twice (since Dec.) for a lingering cough, also for sinus and ear infections.
In the past 10 days- a fever (102.5) for one day (no other symptoms) then nothing for a couple days.
Nausea and vomiting for 3 days (no fever) and then the vomiting stopped and she had a swollen belly and she could barely walk, we took her to the ER and they thought it was possibly appendesitis, then she felt fine the next day (yesterday)
Now this morning she has diarea with no other symptoms.
Shes also been extra emotional for the past three weeks, even her teacher has noticed a change in her personality. I'm really concerned-
I don't want to be a hypocondriac parent but I also don't want to miss something.She has a follow up for her ER visit tomorrow- should I be pressing for tests?
Or it it normal for little ones (she IS in preschool) to be getting sick so often?
Answers: Shes been almost consistently sick for weeks w/ different symptoms.
Shes been on antibiotics twice (since Dec.) for a lingering cough, also for sinus and ear infections.
In the past 10 days- a fever (102.5) for one day (no other symptoms) then nothing for a couple days.
Nausea and vomiting for 3 days (no fever) and then the vomiting stopped and she had a swollen belly and she could barely walk, we took her to the ER and they thought it was possibly appendesitis, then she felt fine the next day (yesterday)
Now this morning she has diarea with no other symptoms.
Shes also been extra emotional for the past three weeks, even her teacher has noticed a change in her personality. I'm really concerned-
I don't want to be a hypocondriac parent but I also don't want to miss something.She has a follow up for her ER visit tomorrow- should I be pressing for tests?
Or it it normal for little ones (she IS in preschool) to be getting sick so often?
Poor baby! It sounds like something is going on and I'm usually much like you, I don't want to overdo it with the doctor but I also would never forgive myself if I didn't worry and missed something major. It's pretty normal (being a former preschool teacher of this age group for 6 years!) for this age to get sick a lot. I would talk to her teachers about hand washing more or even get her a portable foaming hand sanitizer to use when she's at school. Talk to your daughter about health practices before and after using the potty too because those shared kid bathrooms are a germ fest. Get the administration involved if you notice that the bathrooms and toys aren't getting sprayed down and cleaned DAILY.
I wouldn't worry too much about her mood swings, as a 4 year old especially a girl, this is normal behavior for them to go through. Ups and downs like pre-teens only without boobs! :) lol. I have a daughter who's almost 6 and she went through this a lot. It's not uncommon. Lots of extra loves and individual attention can cure this in a few days.
As far as all the stomach problems, it's possible that she has some type of food or medication allergy. Having her allergy tested might be the next logical step. Has she taken the 2 antibiotics before without problems? Is it possible that those are the culprit? Before you push for any other tests, I would do as much research in actual medical journals as you can. As a culture, we do entirely too much medicating and interference with our health and it's causing more problems than it's fixing. Antibiotics are no joke and overusing them can cause our systems to develop antibiotic resistant bacteria so that when you really need them, there isn't anything left that works. Kind of like using pain killers too much, after a while they don't work effectively.
If you have a good pediatrician, I would try to set an appointment to sit down and discuss what the possibilities could be. Get a second and third opinion from other pediatricians BEFORE you make any decisions about what to do. Almost every doctor will tell you something different, you have to be a wise consumer and evaluate everything and consider your own evidence. I would advise against going with everything the ER docs tell you, they are not in the business of seeing your child long term like a family doc.
Just to ease your mind a bit, a fever of 102 for only a day is not much of a concern. Kids handle fevers a lot better than adults do and can even have temps higher than adults too. You only need worry if the fever does NOT go away after 4 straight days. It sounds like it's resolved itself and her system is working to get rid of whatever is making her sick. Her health sounds stable if she's only got the diahrrea with no other symptoms today. That could be anything she ate or response to medication or just a simple stomach bug that will be over soon.
I've had many experiences with my daughter being hospitalized (for respiratory problems and a lung surgery) too. You have to ask LOTS of questions, find out pros and cons for everything they are doing. Just because it's "protocol" does not mean it's the best thing for your child.
I know it's hard when your kiddo is sick, hang in there, I'm sure she'll be ok in the end. Good luck and feel free to email me if you need further help.
i would ask for test because she is exposed to other children there are so many things she could get exposed to it is not funny i work in the healthfield so many things you can catch it is not funny be safe not sorry hope she feels better
Might want them to do a blood test, if they haven't already. Otherwise ask the doctor if you should have an inspection of your house, there might be some substance in the house making her sick.
Getting sick that severely and that often is not normal for a 4 year old, unless there is something seriously wrong. Press for the tests.
While you're at it, you might want to look your house over for hidden mold: Sometimes that can cause the problems you are seeing.
I also just had another thought: Check her for staph. There have been articles about antibiotic-resistant staph infections being passed around at schools
Good luck.
is she exposed to something that is making her sick in the house, mould, pets, chemicals
her immune system is having a hard time, you need to start looking at stuff around the house first, if there is nothing, she needs to have some tests run by a pediatrician to check her out
I would defineatly do a follow up. It seems like there are too many symptoms not to check them all out. Did they check her for Mono? There are just a lot of things it could be and being on the safe side is always good.
I would be concerned if she is getting all of these different illnesses one after another. It would be different if it was one thing that was not going away but it sounds to me like she is catching EVERYTHING that goes around with no breaks in between. Maybe she has a really low immune system and cant fight off the viruses. I would get it checked out.
appendesitis is a hard one to diagnose, so oh yeah take her and request for them too take blood and to check her appendix again. If she is having problems urinating sometimes this can also be a symptom of her appendix.
Never let them tell you that they are not sure what is going on with her. Always request blood, it can show if something is wrong. Tell them you want as much testing to be done to eliminate possibilities.
Good luck!
very normal for this age to pick up everything !!
Especially in day care.
Our little boy, age 5, has repeated colds, ear infections, etc.
Dr. said he sees this frequently with children this age & those in daycares.
They do get dragged down !!
Hopefully she feels better by now.
Do you give her any vitamins?? we do as per our Dr.
I would push for test and more tests. I really don't think this type of thing is normal. You really need to get to the bottom of this sickness.