UmmiSays Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi to All! Does anyone here have chidren that rarely get sick? If so, what are you doing to keep it that way. Special vitamins, home remedies, germ free full body suits :D??? I am tired of all my children getting sick and passing it around in circles. They eat well, get enough sleep, wash hands, live in a clean house... you know the standard stuff to stay healthy, but I need something that really works. I need something to boost their immunity? Any ideas? Â Thanks, Candace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm afraid to post knock on wood. Â My kids do get sick but less often than my friends' kids seem to, and we are out and about all over the place. They are also less picky eaters than most and go to bed early. Our kids have napped til a later age than friends too. We don't do vitamins or anything extra, and still have mcds from time to time. We try to avoid processed foods too. I don't know if that is why but those are differences I notice between our family and other families whose children get sick more frequently. We are not anal retentive about handwashing but probably should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi to All!Does anyone here have chidren that rarely get sick? If so, what are you doing to keep it that way. Special vitamins, home remedies, germ free full body suits :D??? I am tired of all my children getting sick and passing it around in circles. They eat well, get enough sleep, wash hands, live in a clean house... you know the standard stuff to stay healthy, but I need something that really works. I need something to boost their immunity? Any ideas?  Thanks, Candace  Peds nurse, here. Your kids are at the age where they will catch everything that comes around. It will get better as they get older. Around age eight or so.  My kids rarely get sick and we do nothing special. In fact, my philosophy is let them get dirty....it builds immunity. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Yes, particularly our ds12 - the entire house can go down with a week long flu and he'll be sick for a day, tops. It's almost annoying. :laugh: Â I've never done anything special though.. that's just the way he is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm afraid to post knock on wood. Ditto... but here goes... Â I have the flu right now, along with three of my kids. My oldest ds10, though is fine. He is ALWAYS the one who doesn't get what the rest of the kids have. I don't get it. He and dh both can stay healthy all year long. Dh thinks it is because they are the most active.... dh exercises and plays soccer a bunch throughout the week and ds is on a competitive soccer team that has him playing hard about 5 times per week (2+ hours at a time). I am starting to wonder if dh is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtneyChn Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My kids almost never get sick. I don't think we really do anything special here. We're vegetarian and we eat healthy most of the time. Oddly enough my picky eater seems to be the healthiest. When she does get sick it's usually only for a day or less. Sometimes she just gets a fever with no other symptoms. We keep a pretty clean house most of the time but not at all spotless. I'm not too concerned with keeping them away from germs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Mine never do. Dd had a cold once or twice, even though she spent 2.5 yrs. in ps. The only time either of them had an ear infection was dd last year. Ds gets sick a little more but never anything more serious than a cold. We don't do anything. My house is probably slightly worst than normal people so it definitely isn't that. They certainty don't eat the healthiest. It isn't genetic, dh and I are both down with something several times a year. I think it is luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My kids rarely get sick. Once in a while they will get the sniffles or something. They haven't been to the doctors for years for an illness, just their annual checkup. Â We don't do anything special, other than we do try and get healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables. Plus we are vegetarians, so no meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmiSays Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Peds nurse, here. Your kids are at the age where they will catch everything that comes around. It will get better as they get older. Around age eight or so. Â My kids rarely get sick and we do nothing special. In fact, my philosophy is let them get dirty....it builds immunity. :D Â Â I sooo don't like hearing this. I keep reading stuff about some natural concotion called nature's penicillin. It's full of garlic and onion. I really feel like trying that.It probably won't work :glare: I guess I will be taking care of sickies for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We don't have an excessively clean house - I don't believe that people do well in a sterile environment. I use environmentally friendly cleaners and no bleach. And I don't clean that much: the kitchen floor got scrubbed this week for the first time in months. I wipe the kitchen counter tops every day and clean the bathrooms once a week.  Beyond that, we live in the countryside and own a dog, so the boys have plenty of germs to bump up against and build their immunity. They both grew up in Asia, including four years in mainland China, so lots more immunity boosts there. FWIW, they are up-to-date with their immunisations.  We eat a good diet with lots of fruit and veggies. They eat an ordinary gummy multivitamin each day, which also contains fish oil. I'm fierce about adequate sleep. The eldest gets extra vitamin D. Both exercise regularly, including lots of running around/hiking in inclement weather.  Best wishes  Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 my 3 years old (just turn 3 yesterday :D) didn't get sick at all this winter seaon.. knock on wood.. When she was 1, She got sick really often and visit doctor pratically every week. then last winter got better she went in every month. this winter. So far so good. when the girl was one, her Doc jokingly said that she will be the healthiest kid in her class when she gets older because she already got everything, And it looks pretty true now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyndie Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My children and I are sick right now BUT before this, it's been years since we've had anything. We eat VERY strictly healthy. Veggies at every meal. Never eat out (because of food allergies). Lots of running around outside. We do eat meat but in moderation. We all take Juice Plus for it's immune boosting properties. We take Vit d3 daily as well. Â That's about it! Â And in the interest of full disclosure, I am a Juice Plus rep. Because it's good stuff. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) I always think something will happen if I answer this question... Â My first answer is that I do not know why, really. Luck? (I think little kids are supposed to get sick, fwiw, so I would not equate small children getting various colds & viruses with being unhealthy...) Â I do cook with lots of onion, garlic, & spices which are known to have anti- viral and anti -bacterial properties. Â Real yogurt, which is good for gut bacteria, is something else that is a staple in our place. We eat eggs from chickens we raise (and I think eggs are a super- food). I make a lot of chicken broth. Â We try to eat in season, too. I don't buy strawberries in winter, for instance, but we are currently eating lots of butternut squash, carrots, cabbage and such. I also canned tons of tomatoes, which we eat in various forms weekly. Â My house is tidy, but not super- duper clean, and we have animals. Edited January 22, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm afraid to post knock on wood. Â My kids rarely get sick and we do nothing special. In fact, my philosophy is let them get dirty....it builds immunity. :D Â Ditto both of these. :D Â My kids very rarely get sick. They don't even get the sniffles very often (although ds has mild hayfever). Â My house is very very far from spotless. My son is an extremely picky eater who lives on carbs, won't take vitamins or medicine of any kind while my youngest dd thinks medicine is yummy (she takes a vitamin every day). It's a struggle to get my son to wash his hands while my dd would play for hours in the sink and loves playing with soap and lotions. We never use anti-bacterial lotions of any kind, they play with the dog constantly and are in public places all the time. They sleep maybe 9 or 10 hours a night but no naps. Â **knock on wood, knock on wood, fingers crossed** Nobody in my household has had the flu (or anything worse than a cold) in at least the past 6 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My kids have never gotten sick much, but I can't really claim any special reasons. We don't eat a special diet, or take much in the way of vitamins or things like that. I didn't even breastfeed for very long, so even that reason is shot down. They're just healthy kids. I'm not sure why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Knocking on wood: My kids are rarely sick. DS8 has had the flu once, DD4 has never had it. DS has been to the doctor twice for illness (ear infections both time) and DD has never been to the doctor other than for physicals. Even when they were in daycare and public school, they just rarely caught anything more than an occasional cold. Â We eat relatively healthy, exercise, and get plenty of rest (both kids sleep 12-14 hrs/night). They take a daily multivitamin and fish oil but nothing more. My house is tidy but not overly clean as I am in the "dirt is good" camp. I breastfed both of them until they were about 18 mos old but I doubt that has any lasting effects now. Â I think, for us, it boils down to genetics. DSS18 is the only one in our house that seems to catch everything that comes down the pike and, obviously, he has different genetics. Granted, he was raised by a smoker up until he was 14, was not breastfed, is overweight, doesn't exercise, and eats differently from us too.... Hmmmm.... I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I do cook with lots of onion, garlic, & spices, which are known to be anti viral and anti bacterial. Â . Â This could be part of our "secret" to good health. We eat pasta at least twice a week since it's something the kids will also eat. Dh makes the sauce with lots of onion, garlic and, usually, squash and zucchini in it. He purees the sauce for the kids so they don't see any funky colored chunks. I guess the tomatos themselves are pretty high in Vitamin C. Â They do drink a ton of milk so are probably pretty good with Vitamin D as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamom Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Mine don't get sick much either. I can count on one hand how many stomach flus they've had. AND we've lived next door to friends, same age children who were down with stomach flus several times every winter. The whole family. I think making sure they get enough sleep is very important. Get them to bed on time when they are facing illness, traveling, exposed to other sickies with a vit C packet Emergency each. This does wonders. I also give them a multi vit and a softgel garlic capsules when I remember in the winter months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My younger two are like this and usually when they do get sick they will get the sniffles when the rest of us feel like we are dying. Dd13 has been on antibiotics twice and DS11 only once in their entire lives. Dd17 on the other hand seems to catch everything that blows her way and is prone to upper respiratory infections. I believe a lot of it has to do with shape or size of her eustation tubes. The only things I can think of that I did differently are that I breastfed them longer (other issues forced me to stop breastfeeding her at six weeks) and I delayed vaccinations. Oh also, neither of the younger two would eat solid food until they were 9 or 10 months old. We don't do anything special to avoid illness other than the standard hand washing and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My family rarely gets sick, however I catch everything that goes by...even when they bring something home as carriers but aren't infected, I get it. I think it is because growing up I had an obsessively clean mother. Â For us, it's probably a combination of genetics, avoiding other people that are sick, and letting kid's immunity build up by not being too obsessive about cleanliness. Â We also eat a lot of garlic and onions and try to avoid processed food, fast food, and restaurants during cold/flu season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Mine. When they do get sick, they are well within a day or two. I really believe that breastfeeding and organic baby food helped develop the strong immune systems they have. I'm also not a mom who's afraid to let them get dirty. We use mostly natural products to treat illness as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in PA Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My dd has been sick maybe a handful of times or so, mostly with colds. Her ped has commented a couple of times about her being her healthiest patient. Why? I don't really know, but I do have some possible ideas: I did extended breastfeeding, we've had cats her entire life and a dog for most of it, I don't keep a spotless house, and we try to eat healthy most of the time. Whatever it is, I'm not going to argue with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) My son is rarely sick. Â Â Â I contribute it more to proper handwashing, abstaining from being among those who are visibly sick, and good genetics. He's been to the doctor twice in his lifetime for illness, once was strep. He was breastfed for about 9 months. Edited January 22, 2011 by elegantlion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Kids need to play hard and get really dirty. They need to get out there and get some good old-fashioned exposure to germs. Occasional fevers and puking means the immune system is working. A runny nose means the body is spewing the bad guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Mine don't get sick much at all. I don't either. So they either inherited the no sick gene from me, or we're just around so many germs, farm dirt, ranch icky stuff that they're immune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Mine don't get sick much at all. I don't either. So they either inherited the no sick gene from me, or we're just around so many germs, farm dirt, ranch icky stuff that they're immune. Â I agree. It helps. Getting sick isn't even really the issue. It's really about how you recover. One of mine had pneumonia, but recovered quickly without antibiotics. (Viruses can turn bacterial, and maybe hers did and maybe it didn't.) How long are you down is the question. In this case, I do believe there are things we can do to build our immune systems. Â Playing in the dirt is one. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm almost afraid of jinxing myself, but my girls rarely get sick. I honestly can't remember the last time I took one to the doctor or had a prescription. About a year ago the two younger ones had a 24 hr. stomach bug. That's the last I remember. I try to provide very healthy food and lots of outdoors time. My house isn't exceptionally clean - meaning they get their fill of dirt and germs, I'm afraid. Maybe it's genes??? I don't get sick much. Maybe God took pity on me when the twins were babies and I got no sleep??? Other than eating healthy and getting lots of exercise, I don't do anything special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 nm. Too risky too post. lol Hear that fates? Move along, nothing to see here. Â I'm almost afraid of jinxing myself, but my girls rarely get sick. I honestly can't remember the last time I took one to the doctor or had a prescription. About a year ago the two younger ones had a 24 hr. stomach bug. That's the last I remember. I try to provide very healthy food and lots of outdoors time. My house isn't exceptionally clean - meaning they get their fill of dirt and germs, I'm afraid. Maybe it's genes??? I don't get sick much. Maybe God took pity on me when the twins were babies and I got no sleep??? Other than eating healthy and getting lots of exercise, I don't do anything special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Mine rarely get sick. We eat well (primarily whole foods, but we cheat occasionally ;)), we have pets, my house is not overly clean but not horribly filthy either, we use natural cleaning products and I can remember 2x in the past 12 years they have ever taken a medication (so, not a lot of antibiotic use. Once dd had strep and she took antibiotics for a few days and the other was when ds had his tonsils out and had to take something - I forget what it was). When there is a problem beyond sniffles, we usually use natural remedies and duke it out until it passes. Thankfully, there has never been anything horrible or urgent to deal with so far - I think dd's one bout with strep a few years ago was the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My dd has been sick twice that I can remember (not counting ear infections, which run in the family due to a predisposition to eustachian tube disfunction). Even when every kid in dd's toddler group is leaving a slime trail, my dd never gets it. Â We do eat very healthy- lots of whole foods, nothing processed if I can help it. But I think the biggest factor is our attitude toward germs. We embrace them. Antibacterial anything is banned in our house. We are very laid back about hand-washing. Dd constantly puts things in her mouth that have been on the floor, which sends my mom into hysterics, but I just shrug. I clean only with a vinegar/water mixture, too- no chemicals. Â I know some people probably think I'm just a lazy parent or something, but I do it intentionally. From what I've read about antibacterial products, you're much better off letting your kid roll in germs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2hunangirls Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Neither of my girls get sick. One is 8, the other 3. We do nothing special. And I think that makes all the difference. I watch my one of my friends disinfect their kids and marvel that they get sick if you just say the word "fever". I think germs, in moderation, are a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My kids got sick a lot when they were toddlers and preschoolers, but now they don't get sick often at all. We don't do anything special. Be careful with too many vitamin and immune boosting products, because too much is as bad as not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My girls are very rarely sick, but I can't say I do anything super special to have that happen. They do the normal stuff, hand-washing, vitamins, etc. I've just been very, very lucky that since birth they've been extremely healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My children rarely get sick. Usually when we do, it's something picked up from one of Dad's co-workers or a play date. I do wish people would tell you their kids are sick before they arrive. Â The kids are all minimally vaxed. Breastfed. No allergies. We eat a minimal amount of processed food and get plenty of rest. Â I did notice a two year period where we got sick more than usual (for us). We used to live in Florida and got A LOT of natural Vitamin D. We returned to Ohio and got a couple of colds and two mild cases of flu during that two year period. Â We started taking Vitamin D and Vitamin C and went back to rarely getting sick again. When we do get sick, it seems to be short lived and milder than what other friends are having. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Overall dd does not get sick very often. She had two ear infections as an infant/toddler, had to have her tonsils out (I count that as one long continuous bout of strep throat), and the swine flu last year. Â She also picks up the local bugs when we move from region to region. Generally our first year somewhere new we will get the local bugs, be sick 2-3 times then nothing again until something like the swine flu comes along or we move. Â I don't do super cleaning. We do a lot of tidying up, but only deep clean 1-2 times a year. The kitchen and bath floors get cleaned regularly, but the hardwood only gets washed twice a year. The bath room gets cleaned if company is coming over or once every 7-10 days. Â We eat somewhat questionable things. I find a I would eat a lot of what is in the "would eat this" threads. Right now dishes are hand washed. Â I do believe that our immune systems need to have something to do to in order for the immune system to stay healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 These are things we have been doing for about the past 6 years and none of us have been sick - until this year. My older son is at college and allowed infected ears to go on for months without being properly treated. Due to his run-down system, he contracted first a 24 hour intestinal bug, soon followed by the flu. He spent almost a week at home and we hope we have him back on the road to recovery of his immunity, finally.... Â At home, we are trying to eat healthier, cleaner, less chemical-ridden foods. For my older son, one of the big things was that I bought organic milk for him as well as organic juices. He drinks a LOT of milk. Milk that has low levels of antibiotics in it can not be good for the system.... Â During the winter, we all drink a tea that contains Echinacea to stimulate the immune system. We don't drink this daily. If you use it more than about 10-12 days consecutively, the effect diminishes. We also have other teas that help with sore throat and congestion.... Â At the first sign of a respiratory problem, we use a Neti pot, which provides a thorough saline rinse to the nasal passages and sinus cavities and is recommended by many ENT's.... Â My younger son still finds a saline mist easier to use than the Neti pot and we all will use that if traveling, etc. Â At the first thought that we might be coming down with a respiratory-related virus of any type, we put vinegar in our ears (using cotton swabs) up to 3 times a day for about 20 minutes each time. There were studies a few years ago that suggested an acid rinse (hydrogen peroxide or vinegar) might help to delay/retard replication of any viruses that are thought to incubate in the ear canals, and apparently this includes colds and flu. We also take Oscillococcinum 3 times per day. Â This year, we have begun using liquid Astragalus as an immune booster against flus/colds (we used it while my son was here, for example, hoping none of us would catch what he had - we didn't). This is my husband's find and I'm not too sure of it in reading about it, so can't really recommend it yet..... Â We try to pay attention to washing hands more often. Â When my son was home, I sprayed around the house with Lysol several times a day. I particularly paid attention to door frames and edges and door knobs and light switches which he might touch as he came in and out of rooms; the railing on the stairs, areas where he'd been sitting for a long time, etc. When he left, I washed all his bedding and every quilt he'd used to wrap himself in around the house, etc. I don't think that viruses are particularly long-lived on surfaces, but still thought it prudent. Â I picked up towels often so that others would not use the towels he had used. I sprayed down toilet seats and flush handles. Â We urged his brother not to hug him, sit on top of him, kiss him, etc. No touching. They still watched TV together, played video games together (I sprayed down the controllers and TV remotes regularly) and hung out together. Â He already washes his own clothes separately from ours and in hot water, but that might not be a bad idea, either. I added extra hydrogen peroxide to all my loads this week..... Â That's all I can think of right now.... I'm sorry you're having problems.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmiSays Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Maybe I should layoff on keeping an extra clean house. I just get so nervous about people coming over and seeing all the dust bunnies, crumb, and fingerprints. Plus I HAVE to wipe the bathrooms down about 5 times a day since my boys are not quite sure shots for the toilet:glare:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 regular chiropractic appts--In the past 3 years we've only been to the dr. for check-ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mother Superior Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I have one kid who, literally, NEVER gets sick. I have another kid who RARELY gets sick. But both of them were adopted from orphanages at older(ish) ages, and I believe it's because orphanage life strengthened their immune systems. Â That doesn't help you much, though, does it? Â The rest of my kids do not get sick often. They get vitamins daily and we are rigorous about hand washing. We also change hand towels regularly, and when something starts to sweep through, sick kids use a separate hand towel from healthy kids. Â Looking forward to going back through and reading the other responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The overuse (meaning anyone but health care people) of antibacterial hand cleaners has always made me nervous. It seems a great way to create a new breed of super -germs. Nature finds a way, (says the Chaos Theorist in Jurassic Park). ;) Â Soap and water, people. Soap and water. Â y. From what I've read about antibacterial products, you're much better off letting your kid roll in germs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Well mine do not live in a clean house . ;) Otherwise, we do what you do. Our church started using hand sanitizer on Sundays--that made a huge difference years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi to All!Does anyone here have chidren that rarely get sick? If so, what are you doing to keep it that way. Special vitamins, home remedies, germ free full body suits :D??? I am tired of all my children getting sick and passing it around in circles. They eat well, get enough sleep, wash hands, live in a clean house... you know the standard stuff to stay healthy, but I need something that really works. I need something to boost their immunity? Any ideas? Â Thanks, Candace My two don't get sick much. Two things I would advise doing, get rid of the whites(white flour,sugar,rice,pasta, etc) and get rid of sweetners except for maple syrup and honey. We use honey only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We dont get sick much here..ds gets sick the most but his diet is the worst. I breastfed for along time to give them extra immunity. They rarely got sick when little...once ds did get an ear infection. Once they got to school they got a bit more. Then they came home and rarely got sick again. Â I am not much into sanitizers and rigorous hygeine at all. We are meant to get a variety of germs- it builds our immune systems. Its not that I am unhygeinic...its jsut that I dont "imagine" germs everywhere like many people seem to do. I do avoid sick people to some extent. Â I think stress is a big factor. Diet is, but its only one factor of many. Genetics plays a big role. Plus maternal health. Allergies stress the system out and things like ear infections and colds can be very related to dairy. Â Overall though, you have got what you have got and the truth is, it is building their immune systems every time they get sick. As long as you only resort of antibiotics as a very last resort....they will get through it and be stronger in the end. Every time you resort to anti biotics (which are sometimes necessary, I admit), the immune system doesnt develop the strength to oversome the illness next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm afraid to post knock on wood. Â My kids rarely get sick and we do nothing special. In fact, my philosophy is let them get dirty....it builds immunity. :D Â What they said. :001_smile: I do buy them vitamins, but it's up to them to actually remember them. If they didn't like them so much I'd probably skip purchasing them. Â They primarily eat homemade food, drink a lot of water. We tend to avoid refined sugars, white death (bleached flour), HFCS, and mostly eat gluten free due to a very sensitive celiac ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My oldest gets sick the most. She's the one who never put anything in her mouth as a baby/toddler, and she's the one who fights sleep. Â My middle one, who would gnaw on any disgusting thing she could find when she was younger, almost never gets sick. She's also my good sleeper. I have noticed that if both girls come down with something, she will take a 3- or 4-hour nap and be over it like *that*, while her sister drags on with it for several days. Â My 17-month-old has only been sick once that I can remember. I've just stopped bf, hopefully that won't hurt his immune system too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 You know, I can't remember the last time my oldest ds (10) was truly sick. I really can't, he must have been VERY young. Oh wait, I remember him throwing up in the bathroom SINK when he was 4-ish, but that's the last I remember. Sorry, TMI! Â My youngest ds (almost 8) rarely gets sick either. Mostly acid reflux, but that doesn't count. Â I truely don't know why they hardly ever get sick. My dd, dh and I have all been sick over the past week (and I had a flu shot to boot!), but NOT the two boys. Strange:001_huh:...I mean, my house is moderately clean, but I'm sure there are germs about (which isn't a *bad* thing either). It's not like I keep them locked up in the house all the time either. We're out in public multiple times per week. Â Hmmm...don't know. Sorry that really didn't help you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Ok I have not read any replies (sorry but 5 pages is a bit much LOL) But yes, my kids vary rarely get sick. I really dont know what we do though. I guess one thing we do is vary rarely medicate, especially fevers (unless they get too high) I will not medicate a fever until it gets to the higher 103s... A fever is there to kill off whatever your body is fighting and if you do meds to kill the fever it can not do its job. I guess we just give the immune system time to do its job. We will however do meds if kids need more comfort to get a good nights sleep. Now, all that said when my kids do get sick its either extrememly quick (like gone that same day) or they get REALLY sick and are down for a while. There is really no middle ground for us. We dont really do alot of hand sanitizers or anything although I make them wash their hands a ton when sick and I wash all bedding daily during the sickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Breastfeeding for a year and a half. A chance to play in the dirt. NO antibacterial wipes,cleaners, soaps in our house (that stuff is rather harmful: it prevents them from building immunity, and it fosters the development of bacteria strains that are resistant to antibiotics.) My kids spent a lot of time outdoors in all weather when they were little. They were allowed to get dirty. Â We don't do vitamins or any artificial stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarbourLights Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I haven't read thru all the comments, but our boys are very rarely sick... and have never had a fever longer than 24hours. I think the last major sickness was when they were around 18mos. (nasty stomach bug got us all) but in the past 3+ years, really nothing to speak of. I credit it to vitamins (daily multi-vitamin with additional chewable C each morning), clean eating (they get very little "white stuff" all whole grains here with plenty of veggies and fruit and water rather than processed snacks and soda) and good old fashion genetics. I'm a bit of a clean freak so the house is well maintained but I am by no means squirting sanitizer gel in their hands all the time. I rarely get sick either (been that way my whole life... migraines used to be my thing but clean eating fixed all that) and my father is the same way. I think genetics do play a pretty significant roll in that, but the rest does help! Â My best advice tho' is what my grandma used to say... "Push the (vitamin) C!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) My kids rarely get sick. Â We don't do coops or stuff like that, so we aren't around groups of little kids a lot. Mine are older, so that helps. Â We eat lots of veggies. We minimize processed foods. They spend a lot of time outdoors, in the dirt. We are careful about food preparation & storage (most GI 'bugs' are really food poisoning). I.e, we toss leftovers quickly, wash cutting boards well, are neurotic about raw meat safety, etc. We also have lots and lots of pets. LOL, google 'hygiene hypothesis' for some very interesting reading! Â ETA: I also breast fed each child for at least 2 years. No formula at all. Lots of organics & veggies as young kids. . . We also immunize 'fully' but cautiously with some extended intervals when the kids were very young. Edited January 22, 2011 by StephanieZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.