MY GP has recommended taking my 18 month old out of the creche

cbyrd

My 12 year old daughter was on 12 antibiotics in 15 months between the ages of 1 and 3. Scarlet fever when she was 4 and the doc said no need for a tonsillectomy as she would grow out of it. She explained the difference between a viral and bacterial infection and why even though she had a temperature and was sick she wouldn't prescribe an antibiotics. once they get an antibiotic it can take up to 6 months for a childs system to get over it. it leaves them more susceptible to other bugs and viruses.
Get him a decent probiotic, not the ones peddled in yoghurt as these don't work, vitamin D and C and keep him on it for the winter. I would completely blame the antibiotics and not the crèche.
I find it difficult to understand why people think it's okay to bash a parents choice of childcare when they have no knowledge of the circumstances of that family.
on a side note..
Boards has always been my first port for advice over the years but I have noticed lately very negative and attacking responses in threads. It's not helpful to the OP to air opinions that have nothing to do with the advice being sought, just my 2 cents worth.

braddun

I take it your child was not breast fed

whos putting your child on antibiotics,thats bad


try changing diet more fruit vegitables more water


no fruit juice drinks



http://happybabyusa.org/2011/11/09/babies-and-infection-why-does-my-baby-keep-getting-sick/

http://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/daycare-germs-what-you-need-to-know/

Neyite

braddun wrote: »

I take it your child was not breast fed

whos putting your child on antibiotics,thats bad


try changing diet more fruit vegitables more water


no fruit juice drinks



http://happybabyusa.org/2011/11/09/babies-and-infection-why-does-my-baby-keep-getting-sick/

http://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/daycare-germs-what-you-need-to-know/

My child was breastfed for nearly a year. He has never drank anything other than milk or plain water in his life. He eats lots of fruit and veg, all home cooking. There are no known allergies or immune issues in him or either of his parents. And he still went through a phase in creche where he was sick a lot. I think it happens to nearly all kids.

Op after an antibiotic course it is recommended to take a probiotic to replace the good bacteria wiped out by the antibiotic. I got sachets you add to milk and his sick days drastically decreased for me. Maybe his system will recover over the Christmas break from creche and he gets a proper chance to recuperate fully.

cyning

braddun wrote: »

I take it your child was not breast fed

whos putting your child on antibiotics,thats bad


try changing diet more fruit vegitables more water


no fruit juice drinks



http://happybabyusa.org/2011/11/09/babies-and-infection-why-does-my-baby-keep-getting-sick/

http://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/daycare-germs-what-you-need-to-know/

Doctors do not prescribe antibiotics on a whim. It's not bad.

Op I have a 9 month old who has being admitted to hospital 5times so far. Plus countless viral infections. I have a two year old that's had a constant cold, parapertussis, tonsillitis, a stomach bug and an ear infection since October. Neither are in crèche. I'm at home with them.Sometimes they just get a bad run of it: hopefully he will bounce back soon. I have them on vitamin d and probiotics and a multi vitamin. I'd wait and see how you go... Hopefully he bounces back a bit. I think any bit of a clear run can really help.

Oh and my 2 year old was breastfed until 15 months. 9 month old was exclusively fed until 6 months and is still fed on demand. Both eat fruit and veg. Neither drink juice: just water. I really hate that crap that breastfeeding is a magic elixir. It's not.

bp

braddun wrote: »

I take it your child was not breast fed

whos putting your child on antibiotics,thats bad


try changing diet more fruit vegitables more water


no fruit juice drinks



http://happybabyusa.org/2011/11/09/babies-and-infection-why-does-my-baby-keep-getting-sick/

http://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/daycare-germs-what-you-need-to-know/

My child was breastfed and was on more antibiotics before joining creche at a year old than since. Only drinks milk and water, very healthy diet etc but gets sick. Kids pick up things - I am the one usually passing the virus around the house

beauf

I don't think you can apply any an experience with one set of kids/family with another. You could have a completely different immune system.

Some people/kids catch things more easily than others. Personally I think if you don't catch things in the creche you'll catch it in school. If you're prone to that.

tazwaz

Hi op, i have a 2 yr old boy and this year i brought him to a homeopath to get a remedy to boost his immune system before the winter and so far so good. We had been on a few antibiotics last winter so i said we'd try this as we had nothing to lose but it's def something I'm going to keep up :-)

seventeen sheep

braddun wrote: »

I take it your child was not breast fed

whos putting your child on antibiotics,thats bad


try changing diet more fruit vegitables more water


no fruit juice drinks

A lot of assumptions in your post.

For all you know, the parent is giving their child plenty of fruit and veg and water.

In my experience, doctors do not prescribe antibiotics to a baby on a whim.

In my experience - as a parent of a formula-fed baby who started creche at five months old - he did not pick up any more or less bugs than any other child, and has only ever once been on antibiotics.

irishmotorist

OP, I think it's a judgement call on your part. Our two fellas have been similar, though when the 3 year old was approaching his 2nd birthday, it really eased off.

Our 1 year old was on antibiotics 3 times between September and October this year.

IMO, it's down to the fact that kids of this age stick everything in their mouth so, in a creche environment, everything gets spread. It's something that I think a lot or, perhaps, most kids go through, but I'd be quite sure the end is in sight. For what it's worth, we do Udo's (twice) and Pharmaton (once) every day. Sickness still happened sometimes even with this, but it might help. I'm not sure how scientifically/medically regarded these products are.

Perhaps if you have a break over Christmas coming up, it will give a bit of time for the baby to recharge outside of the creche environment.

ash23

My daughter is nearly 12 now. When she started creche at 18 months I had her in the GP every week or so it seemed. Conjunctivitis, chest infections, ear infections etc.
I was at my wits end about it and I asked the GP if I should consider taking her out of creche. The GP said that I could but that she would at some point start school and then the same thing would happen. As an only child she wasn't really exposed to other kids and germs so it could happen when she started creche or when she started school and really, it was my choice.

Things levelled off a bit and she had the odd infection here and there but the first six months was a nightmare.
Touch wood since she was about 4 we haven't had more than one dose per year. She was at the GP this morning and they mentioned that it's been over two years since she was last on an antibiotic. She rarely misses school so I think the GP I had was right. When she started school there were loads of doses going around and thankfully she got none of them.

I don't think getting older builds up their immune system. Keeping him at home until he's four or five just means he'll pick up all those bugs when he starts school imo.

zarafiq

Tower002 wrote: »

Morning

I took my 18 month old son to the doctor on Fri morning.

She told me that since July he has had an antibiotic every single month - I nearly died!

Does it mean you didn't know?
Several people mentioned that doctors don't prescribe antibiotics without a good reason but some of them prescribe more than others.
Would look for a second opinion.

irishmotorist

Just reread the OP and perhaps a second opinion might be no harm. Some of the things you mention sound like they might be more a virus than bacteria to my ear...based on what I understand of what our GP has told us. On occasion, she has given us no meds as she felt it was a virus (due to combinations of symptoms). Also, antibiotics prescribed by a different doc did nothing on one occasion and a follow up visit to our main GP showed that she thought they were incorrectly prescribed...again that she felt it was a viral infection.

pwurple

tazwaz wrote: »

Hi op, i have a 2 yr old boy and this year i brought him to a homeopath to get a remedy to boost his immune system before the winter and so far so good. We had been on a few antibiotics last winter so i said we'd try this as we had nothing to lose but it's def something I'm going to keep up :-)

Well, aside from homeopathy being a load of moneygrabbing twaddle which will di about as much as tap water... Can I ask what you mean by "boost his immune system"? Headcolds, coughs and sniffles are an immune response to a virus... By boosting it ( if you even could) the child would be even snottier and more miserable.

What's the point of that?

Paddy Cow

Giver33 wrote: »

This is not a normal situation. I am in my late 30s. I never went to a creche, but went to primary school etc:

Ear infection: Never
Ear & throat: Plenty of sore throats over the years, never requiring antibiotics
Tonsilitis: Never
Diarrhoea: Couple of times, mainly one trip to Gran Canaria in 1996
Vomiting bug: Once, last year
Conjunctivitis: Once, three years ago
Hand, foot and mouth: Never
A&E: A few times, never kept in overnight

Never taken multivitamins or "UDO's infant blend"

I don't live a very healthy lifestyle either.

I'm mid thirties and never went to creche. I have seven brothers and sisters (I'm number five) and I was always a sickly baby and child. I picked up everything going, even though my siblings didn't. At age 6 I contracted whooping cough, which is highly infectious but none of my other siblings got it. Two Easter's I was too sick to eat my easter egg. I missed numerous school outings due to illness.

I don't doubt that when loads of kids are together it increases the chances of the kid contracting an illness but all I'm saying is that I never went to creche and I still got everything going, so I don't think parents who send their kids to creche should feel guilty. Some kids are simply more susceptible to illness than others. This is why it's so important for all parents to get their kids vaccinated.

Thankfully as an adult I am pretty healthy and only had one bad flu in the last ten years

iguana

ash23 wrote: »

I don't think getting older builds up their immune system. Keeping him at home until he's four or five just means he'll pick up all those bugs when he starts school imo.

Sorry but this is totally wrong. The human immune system doesn't mature until somewhere between 4-7 years. Up until then children are very vulnerable to illness and why outside of the modern, first world child mortality rates are so high between birth and 5 years old. In this period low level exposure to dirt and germs is good, most likely as it allows the immune system to develop and mature slowly and relatively steadily. Children with siblings are often healthier than first/only children. Children who spend the first year of their lives in a family with a dog have a rate of childhood illness 6 times lower than those without pets. But too much exposure to bacteria and viruses is not good before the immune system is mature.

This doesn't mean creches are automatically a bad option. Many children will be fine and even thrive in that environment. But if your child is repeatedly getting ill to the point that their primary healthcare provider is advising you to make a change then I think that's worth taking very seriously. At the very least I'd be looking for independent scientific research into the longterm effects of numerous illnesses on an immature immune system and avoiding anecdotes that will by their very nature be filled with confirmation bias.

Qualitymark

**** COMPLETELY NON QUALIFIED TO GIVE ANY REAL ADVICE DISCLAIMER 2 ****

This whole thread seems to prove the adage that A Mother's Place Is In The Wrong.

I suspect that the OP's family doctor may be experienced and skilled and sensible and giving good advice for this particular case.

I wonder if it might be worth asking the other parents who have children in the older room whether their children too started to come down with a lot of infections when they moved up.

If the answer is yes, maybe take a look at the hygiene in the older room; not just handwashing, etc, but how well and often the toilets are cleaned, whether the same mops and cloths are used in toilets and the toddlers' room; whether naptime beds are washed down; whether food preparation areas are clean and regularly washed; whether carers stringently wash their hands after nappy changes and cleaning up accidents, etc, etc. It's quite possible that hygiene lapses may be leading to infections.

It might also be worth trying a different creche to see if the problem is the same there - I know this is tough for little lads, having to move from where they're happy and secure and have made friends, but it might be worth the disturbance to try it for a little.