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Four year old with recurrent infections
My four year old son has been complaining of sore bones, sore back and will come down with a 102 fever at least once a month. I will bring him to the dr. he will swab his throat positive for strep, give antibiotics and for those days on antibiotics he seems to be getting better. Then, when the antibiotics are finished within two weeks he will be having the same symptoms again and we will continue the process. He has had regular blood work that didn't show anything and they have also checked for inflammation and RA. All blood work comes back normal. ASO on blood test showed he didn't have strep, so assuming he's a carrier. So....what has he been getting sick with?? During one of these episodes his blood work was done and his wbc count was high, he also had chest congestion on an xray. All of this was attributed to strep, since his swab was positive. However, if he didn't have strep at the time he did have some kind of bacterial infection. Why does he keep getting sick if he is not on antibiotics?? Very concerned and scared about the bone pain that wakes him in the night. Dr. is dismissing any of my concerns and asking ME what tests I want him to do. Telling me that it's winter and kids get sick!! Any one else have similar experiences? Any advice would be appreciated.
Forgot to mention that all of his allergy tests and celiac come back negative. If there's anyone out there reading this and would like to solve this case I would appreciate any ideas or direction. Reading my previous posts you can see that we've run sooo many tests already and not sure where to go from here.
It has been 3.5 weeks off of antibiotics and my son has a 103.5 fever and very bad headache. He began with a headache on Monday (four days ago) and the fever creeps up every time he is not topped up with antibiotics. He has a very large lymph node on left side of neck and he's also complaining of sore back. He is going to see an infectious disease ped. tomorrow. He was still running a very high fever last night and a sore head in the back. He is not complaining of anything today and his fever has subsided. My husband is bringin him to a clinic, where I'm sure they will swab his throat and tell us for the 6th time in 6 months that he is pos. for strep! Still not sure why he keepsgetting so sick. If all of his blood work showed normal, could he still have a chronic condition causing all of this constant illness??
I agree! with the stress of him seeing all the doctors! I'm sure you give him
plenty of attention and love!! Please keep us posted.
plenty of attention and love!! Please keep us posted.
If we do find that he's a carrier with the throat culture, we will definitely treat him. Something possibly unrelated he started this weekend is excessive blinking. We brought his attention to it once and he said "I try to stop it and I can't". Besides that instance we have just been ignoring it. Everything I read seems to suggest to ignore and it will pass. Poor little guy, one thing after another. Things have said that it can be caused by stress or anxiety. Wondering if because his body is physically stressed that this is a tic that has occurred?? It saddens me to think that he's emotionally stressed as he's very happy, however, I'm sure all of these Dr's appt.s may be causing some anxiety:(
My granddaughters were carriers and the infectious disease doc. gave them
clindamycin and that knocked it out of them.
clindamycin and that knocked it out of them.
He will be getting a swab for throat culture this week, along with celiac blood work and allergy testing. Hopefully we find a source to all of these problems and they are related!! He has already seen an infectious disease ped. whom recommended the allergy testing and celiac blood work. More waiting, but hopefully moving in the right direction???
If your son is a carrier then he should be given clindamycin!
I would also have him checked by a pediatric Infectious Disease MD.
I would also have him checked by a pediatric Infectious Disease MD.
Thanks again for the responses. Went to an infectious disease pediatrician yesterday and he is very sure that my son is full of allergies. With the history of being a very colicky baby and irritable child to the point that we decide what to wear each day based on "how it feels" to his physical exam in which the Dr. said he has "cobblestone throat" which apparently is a hallmark symptom of an allergic child?? Also, his dry skin. He is determined that he is getting respiratory infections since allergic children are much more prone to these. He also thinks he is a strep carrier and the fact that he swabbed neg. he feels was only because he was still on antibiotics and that can make the swabs false negatives. So, he feels the throat is just another symptom of the respiratory infections he has been getting due to an overworked immune system. Also, possible celiac disease. So, we are doing a blood test to see if celiac is a possiblity and if so, may be moving forward with biopsy to confirm diagnosis. Also, an immunologist is going to be seeing him in a couple of weeks to follow up regarding the allergies. I'm still concerned about the bone/joint pain. When he gets a requisition for celiac I will also ask the Dr. to look at vit. D levels. Thank you for that suggestion. The Dr. also talked about a condition called PFAPA syndrome that really fits his recurrent fevers, sore throat, etc. However, there is no cure or treatment. Feel like we are making some progress. Thanks again to everyone that has been giving suggestions through all of this. I apppreciate it more than you know.
When you go to the new doctor, ask to get the child's vitamin D levels checked. It could be anything from simple vitamin D deficiency to autoimmune illness. Either way, vitamin D deficiency is very likely involved. Also, he may be only four, but you should have his SED and his ANA rates tested. Doctors usually don't immediately take the tonsils out any more these days as a first line of defense. Finding the root of the problem will help the entire immune system.
Again, the Vitamin D Council has excellent information on the appropriate amounts of vitamin D to give to a small child. I know the correct amount to give to an adult, but I don't have any kids or grand kids so I don't remember the appropriate amount for children. But, it is more than the current RDA that the FDA upped it to. Remember, they were only looking at the very minimal amount to protect bone health and not overall immune health. There are other crucial minerals that are important to take with vitamin D in order for the body to synthesize vitamin D. The most important one is magnesium. Again, the Vitamin D Council has very good guidelines on the right amount to give to a kid his age. Since there is no way to get natural sunlight exposure in the winter for most people, which is the optimal way to get vitamin D.
Supporting the immune system is crucial as the first line of defense, so his body can more easily fight off what ever is causing these recurrent infections. This is why testing his vitamin D is so important. And, it's why you want to make sure that there isn't some sort of underlying auto immune issue going on with the little guy. Vitamin D issues, aside from simple vitamin D deficiency, play a role in determining if there is an auto immune issue going on.
While it won't help with the fever spikes, has anyone taught the little guy how to gargle with salt water? This can help flush out any sort of bacterial infection in the throat. Just getting the gunk out of there should help over all.
Again, the Vitamin D Council has excellent information on the appropriate amounts of vitamin D to give to a small child. I know the correct amount to give to an adult, but I don't have any kids or grand kids so I don't remember the appropriate amount for children. But, it is more than the current RDA that the FDA upped it to. Remember, they were only looking at the very minimal amount to protect bone health and not overall immune health. There are other crucial minerals that are important to take with vitamin D in order for the body to synthesize vitamin D. The most important one is magnesium. Again, the Vitamin D Council has very good guidelines on the right amount to give to a kid his age. Since there is no way to get natural sunlight exposure in the winter for most people, which is the optimal way to get vitamin D.
Supporting the immune system is crucial as the first line of defense, so his body can more easily fight off what ever is causing these recurrent infections. This is why testing his vitamin D is so important. And, it's why you want to make sure that there isn't some sort of underlying auto immune issue going on with the little guy. Vitamin D issues, aside from simple vitamin D deficiency, play a role in determining if there is an auto immune issue going on.
While it won't help with the fever spikes, has anyone taught the little guy how to gargle with salt water? This can help flush out any sort of bacterial infection in the throat. Just getting the gunk out of there should help over all.
How about his tonsils ,I see the Doc isnt keen from what you say did they say what they looked like many children get tonsillitis ,its very unpleasant with really nasty sore throats and fever.My children had their tonsils out and didnt suffer afterwards..so did I , I had earaches fevers, aching bones and at 8 year old they took them out .,I had no problems .You may want to get a second opinion .
Well....it didn't take as long as I thought. He complained yesterday of a sore foot and today he was complaining of both arms hurting all day and he woke up crying saying he had a cramp in his back. His fever is low right now but it's 100.5. Take him back to the dr.s and get more antibiotics???? Not sure what to do with him. If he is not on antibiotics he is not fighting off anything himself. Any suggestions out there?????
Thank you for all of the replies. He is finished his course of antibiotics today and the dr. swabbed his throat for strep and he was neg. So....obviously he is not a carrier since he would continue to swab pos. every time. Not sure why the ASO did not show any antibodies for strep since he has been swabbed pos. five times in three months?? IT usually takes 2-3 three weeks max. for him to come down with his fever and illness once off of antibiotics. I guess we will wait and see. Dr. wants me to see an allergy/asthma dr. who is booking in August. I'm going to request an infectious disease pediatrician that is booking 3-6 weeks from now. Seems to make a little more sense. He is not recommending an ENT since he is very firm on the idea that strep does not decrease with a tonsillectomy. So.... my poor little guy will just continue to have throat infections forever?? This is not normal. My son had tubes put in his ears when two years old with recurrent ear infections (7) I was not concerned the way I am now. This is not normal and I know it's not just a poor immunity since it's winter!! There's more going on and I am trusting my mother's instinct on this one and will continue to investigate until I find what is going on.
Vitamins are the way to go to build up the immune system..last year and again at the begining of this year there have been many recurring infections in children, on the children's forums we have had many moms saying the same as you .Hopefully it will get better ,children on the whole have been 20% sicker than a few years ago .
The right amount of vitamin D will help. The proper amount for children is obviously less than for adults. I don't remember the right amount, but you should check out the Vitamin D Council's website and sign up for their newsletters. As with adults, magnesium is essential for proper simulation of the oral vitamin D. No, not a cure all, but it certainly helped me a great deal. I'm coming from past experience with vitamin D deficiency. The FDA did not really help that much when raising the RDA for vitamin D. It's still insufficient. This is why I recommend going to the Vitamin D Council's website for proper guidance for recommendations for children.
Your pediatrician will squawk and hassle you. You will have to test the child's vitamin D level. He is likely deficient. Nearly everyone in the country has insufficient vitamin D levels. Be prepared for battle with the pediatrician. Conventional doctors panic and tell you all sorts of horror stories and will tell you about the concern of too much vitamin D. While it can happen, it is less likely if you follow sound guidelines and continue to monitor the vitamin D levels until you discover the proper amount of vitamin D that works well for your child.
Vitamin D is essential for immune health. The FDA's recommendation that raised the RDA--slightly--was based on bone health studies and not on over all immunity and health.
Strengthening the immune system will help him fight off these infections.
Your pediatrician will squawk and hassle you. You will have to test the child's vitamin D level. He is likely deficient. Nearly everyone in the country has insufficient vitamin D levels. Be prepared for battle with the pediatrician. Conventional doctors panic and tell you all sorts of horror stories and will tell you about the concern of too much vitamin D. While it can happen, it is less likely if you follow sound guidelines and continue to monitor the vitamin D levels until you discover the proper amount of vitamin D that works well for your child.
Vitamin D is essential for immune health. The FDA's recommendation that raised the RDA--slightly--was based on bone health studies and not on over all immunity and health.
Strengthening the immune system will help him fight off these infections.
it could be anything, the next thing i would look for is a staph infection that may have moved in while the body was weak from strep... staph can be difficult to medicate and sometimes difficult to clear up, but they should be able to run a culture for staph.. other than that im not reallly sure... i hope you can find the answers you need, wish i could offer more.
Thanks so much for the ideas. i will investigate the lyme disease. We have a dr. appt tomorrow. There are ticks that he may have been exposed to in the summer time near our home in the woods. As far as the cultures, his strep throat swabs were showing pos. results and that is a bacterial infection that the antibiotics were supposed to be treating. Now,told that blood test results show that he hasn't had strep and that he must just be a carrier. So....what type of infection have we been treating over and over and over again??
sometimes the pain can be normal i had a lot of pain as a child as i was growing, particularly if he is growing fast.. but getting sick really frequently isnt normal.... unfortunatly antibiotics are great but if he needs them a lot they will when he is off them make him more susceptible to other infections because both good and bad bactiria are killed by antibiotics.. does he have any respitory symptoms? pnumonia can keep coming back and going away.. sometimes its viral where antiniotics dont work and sometimes its bacterial or both... if there is a question whether its viral or bacterial a swab and cuture should be done because if its viral the antibiotics might be causeing more harm than good... however i was a relativly sick child all they way up until college.. for me it usually did move into my chest.... another thing to consider is if they dont culture they mat not be using the most effective antibiotic, so they may kill of part of the infection but not the whole infection so when the oppertunity arises the infection takes over again.. and with over use or improper use of antibiotic you can actually cause a bacteria to become resistant. he hasnt had any exposure to ticks correct? i guess another possibility is an immune deficiancy. im not sure how they test for that. osteomyelitis is a bone infect that can cause pain and fever, but i think its usualy more localized and less general. hope some of this helps
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