Michelle O. in MO Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 My soon-to-be 13yo is constantly getting sick. Sick as in major colds and short lived viruses. If someone so much as coughs/sneezes around her and doesn't cover their mouth, I cringe because I know dd is going to catch it. If someone happens to cover their mouth/nose, than I keep my fingers crossed that dd doesn't catch it anyway. I feed her well. She gets 10hrs sleep a night. She's an athlete, but getting colds etc., is seriously hindering her ability to stay consistent with practice and excel in the activities she loves doing. How do I boost her immune system? I give her vitamin d and c, but no multi right now. What can I do to combat this? My 9yos doesn't get sick like his sister does. He can be in a room full of sick people and he won't get sick, or if he does it runs it's course in 24 hours. Not his sister. She's out at least a week. I'm so frustrated. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Anyone? Ideas? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakim Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Get her vitamin d level tested - even though we supplement, when we were tested, our family was all still really low, a couple dangerously so. You don't even have to go into the immune thing with her doc - just say that you've been supplementing her for _________ (however long) and you want to make sure you're not giving her too much. Because of course, you can overdose D as well. And then don't accept what the lab calls normal - look up online what real protective ranges are. For example, "our" lab calls a level of 30 normal. There is no research to back up that number as protective. They must've pulled it out of a hat! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Thank you. Her pediatrician said that our insurance won't cover vitamin d testing unless there's a "very good" reason for it. Apparently, 6 months of cold/flu aren't good enough. :glare: I guess I need to push a little harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 First and most important you want her to have a vitamin D level in the 50's or above. This would be a 25 (OH) D test. Unless you are aggressively supplementing she's probably low. A general rule of thumb is it takes 1000 IU (of vitamin D3, only D3 for supplementing) per 25 pounds to maintain an existing vitamin D level. You would need more to improve a low level. I'd go ahead and start her on 1000 IU per 25 pounds of D3 and get a 25 (OH) D lab level so you know how much extra to give assuming she's low. Zinc (I like optizinc as it's absorbed much better and doesn't chelate iron) can help fight a cold. We do a double dose if a cold is coming on with my kids. I'd recommend Florastor or Epicore probiotic. Both are proven to boost the immune system. Epicore is another. We do both with my son with immune system issues but you could pick one. My son also takes bovine colostrum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Thank you. This is really helpful. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 You can get blood testing through http://www.healthcheckusa.com on your own. Inexpensive too. Astragalus is what works for immune building in our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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