infections

does autism cause actual sickness in children ?my daughter has been getting infections since she was around one that just came out of no where she was fine one day and then we noticed a little red around her mouth within hours we had to take her to the er that was the first it was a skin infection on her face and then she got huge boils all over her body and she gotten both of this kind of infections so many times the doctors are worried about her becoming immune to the antibiotics the doctors can't tell us why or why she'll suddenly be running a high fever and be sick for days or why when she gets sick like with the stomach bug she had she'll be sick so much longer than other kids every time we take her to the doctor they say she's healthy nothing wrong but if thats true why does she get this infections and fevers all the time? does this have anything to do with her autism?

[Richard B. Graff, PhD, BCBA-D]

I'll leave it up to the medical doctors to determine the cause of these issues, since some infections may be bacterial, and others viral.  However, I suppose it is possible that some of the behaviors that she may engage in could theoretically increase the odds of geting an infection in and around her mouth. For example, some young children with developmental disabilities engage in object mouthing--they frequently put objects in their mouth and manipulate them or chew on them (e.g., soft toys, harder plastic items, etc.).  Some other children engage in behaviors such as skin picking.  If f a child picks at their lips, for example, and gets a slight cut, and then mouths objects in the environment that may not be clean, I suppose it is possible that this may lead to an increased chance of getting an infection.  As another example, the child who does not keep their hands clean and frequently engages in hand mouthing may also be an increased risk for getting infections, especially if they engage in other behaviors such as biting thei lips, or the insider of their cheeks. However, as I said earlier, I will leave it up to the medical professionals to determine the cause of her infections.

Best of luck

[AUSTIN431]

sorry i forgot to mention she's four now and she is autistic

[AUSTIN431]

thanks for the answer she never been very interested in her mouth and we keep her hands very clean but she is fascinated with smelling everything and it usually gets on her mouth too i'll try to keep her from doing this and see if it helps thank you