Disclaimer:
This medical
information is designed as an aid only for the
patients of
Drs. Concannon & Vitale.
It is not a substitute for a medical
exam and direct
advice from your physician.
When your child has frequent colds
Some children seem to have
the sniffles constantly. They get one cold after another, leading
many a parent to wonder, "Is my child having too many colds?" Children
start to get colds after about 6 months of age. During infancy
and the preschool years they average seven or eight colds each
year. School-age children average five or six colds per
year. Adolescents finally reach an adult level of approximately
four colds per year.
Colds account for more than 50%
of all acute illnesses with fever. If your child is over 3 years
of age, sneezes a lot, has a clear nasal discharge that lasts longer
than one month, but doesn't have a fever and has symptoms mainly during
pollen season, he probably has a nasal allergy rather than a cold.
In addition to colds, children can get
diarrheal illnesses (with or without vomiting) two or three times per
year. Some children are especially worrisome to their parents because
they tend to get high fevers with most of their colds, or they have
sensitive gastrointestinal tracts and develop diarrhea with colds.
The main reason children get all
these infections is that they are being exposed to new viruses.
There are at least 200 cold viruses. The younger the child, the
fewer viruses he has been exposed to and the less antibody protection
he has acquired as a result. Children who attend day care, a play
group, a church nursery, or a preschool are directly exposed to more
infections than children who don't. Since complications are more
common during the first year of life, try to keep infants in home-based
day care, rather than large day-care centers where the exposure rate is
highest. Children with older siblings in school have more
indirect exposures. The older siblings catch colds and bring them
home. Colds are thus more common in large families.
The rate of colds triples in the
winter when people spend more time crowded together indoors breathing
recirculated air. Smoking in the home increases a child's
susceptibility to colds and coughs as well as ear infections, sinus
infections, croup, wheezing, and asthma.
WHAT DOESN'T CAUSE FREQUENT COLDS
Most parents worry that a child
who is ill repeatedly has some serious underlying disease.
Children with immune system disease (inadequate antibody or white blood
cell production) don't get any more colds than the average child.
Instead, they often have more serious, life-threatening infections and
recover more slowly. Moreover, children with serious disease do
not gain weight adequately.
Some parents worry that they have
in some way neglected their child or done something wrong to cause
frequent colds. On the contrary, having a lot of colds is an
unavoidable part of growing up. Colds are the one infection we
can't prevent. From a medical standpoint, colds are an
educational experience for your child's immune system.
Look at your child's general
health. If your child is vigorous and gaining weight, you don't
have to worry about their health. To put the problem in
perspective, consider the findings of a recent survey: On any
given day 10% of children have colds, 8% have fevers, 5% have diarrhea,
and 3% have ear infections.
Children get over colds by
themselves. Although you can reduce the symptoms, you can't
shorten the course of the cold. Your child will muddle through
like every other child. Remember that the long-term outlook is
good. The number of colds will decrease over the years as your
child's body builds up a good supply of antibodies to various viruses.
Send your child back to school as
soon as possible. Your child can return to school or preschool
when fever is gone and symptoms are not excessively noisy or
distracting to classmates. Gym and team sports may need to be
postponed for a few days until your child feels well enough to
participate. It doesn't make sense to keep a child home until she
is no longer shedding any virus because this could take two or three
weeks. Besides, the "germ warfare" that normally occurs in
schools is fairly uncontrollable. Children shed germs during the
first days of their illness, before they even look sick or have
symptoms, as well as after symptoms develop. In other words,
contact with respiratory infections is unavoidable in group settings
such as schools or day care. As long as your child's fever has
cleared, there is no reason she cannot attend parties, play with
friends after school, and go on scheduled trips.
In general, your child can go
back to day care once the fever is gone. There is no reason to
prolong the recovery at home if you need to return to work. Nor
do you have to take your child out of preschool or day care permanently
because of repeated minor illnesses. Do be considerate to others
and teach your child to wash their hands and cover their coughs.
WHAT DOESN'T HELP
There are no instant cures for
recurrent colds and other viral illnesses. Antibiotics don't help
unless your child develops complications caused by a bacterial
infection, such as an ear infection, sinus infection, or
pneumonia. Having your child's tonsils removed doesn't help
because colds are not caused by infected tonsils. Nor are they
caused by poor diet, lack of vitamins, bad weather, air conditioners,
or wet feet. Remember, the best time to have these inevitable
infections and develop immunity is during childhood.
What does help is giving
ibuprofen or Tylenol for fever and any aches and pains. Tolerate
your child having some cough and cold symptoms. If your child is
bothered by the cough and cold, it's okay to give some over-the-counter
type of cold medicines for children. Use whichever brand works
best on your child in the past, such as Triaminicol, Dimetapp DM,
Robitussin CF, and many others. Good luck!
LastRev
10/2005 COLDS.htm