Since Mia started crèche this year she has had a runny nose. At her two year check-up I mentioned this to the the paediatrician and she confirmed this was just a runny nose. Mia had no other symptoms that could be seen as her being ill. So after another 3 weeks of runny nose I had to take stock of what could be the problem.
Now the first culprit was crèche syndrome. This commonly referred to syndrome is when babies or toddlers are taken to a daycare facility and end up with a hosts of illnesses ear infections, runny noses, tummy bugs, anything that could be in the air. As it is common for children in these age groups to be more prone to illness when moving into these daycare facilities you would find parents dealing with all sorts of illnesses one after the other. As Mia was not getting any other illnesses and the symptoms stayed in her nose it was difficult to gauge what it could be, but I had to face the fact that this was not crèche syndrome.
So maybe just a cold that is taking a while to get sorted. Well after two weeks on Weleda’s cold and flu and sinus and post-nasal meds with no change in Mia’s condition, I also had to face the music that maybe this was not the cause of her illness.
Teething? Well although some kids are prone to runny noses when they teeth, I was not fully convinced that this was due to her teething.
At last I had to face the music, it was maybe allergy related. So after much pondering I decided to remove a dairy juice mix fluid from her diet, this was introduced in December and January and was the only new thing added to her diet on a regular base. So I waited… Within three days her nose started to clear, within another two days she has now moved into a trickle and she is less agitated. She is sleeping better and in general waking up high spirited. All and all she is on water and very diluted juice with no change to the rest of her diet, she still is given yoghurt once a day but other than that no specific dairy products are present in her diet. If her nose does not clear up completely I will remove dairy from her diet for a couple of weeks and then reintroduce it in smaller portions and over a longer time-period. In general I feel confident that I am winning this battle and that I have found the cause to my child’s runny nose.
For anyone in a similar situation I would suggest the following:
- Crèche syndrome is when your child has different illnesses over a time period, I.e. always sick but not necessarily with the same symptoms or illness all the time. If you wish to prevent or minimise this try using probiotics or a immune boost which are available from all pharmacies. If this persist you might have to find an alternative daycare option, where your child is in a smaller group, or even one-to-one care.
- Be proactive – use homoeopathic echinacae for each season change to protect your child against any new infections that might be in the air.
- Cut down on possible allergens, if you are not able to go for a full spectrum allergy test then start with the removal of possible allergens from your child’s diet. Possible allergens are dairy, wheat, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts and eggs, amongst others.
- Keep a food diary for your child to see which of these are possible triggers for your child’s ill health – find healthy alternatives for your child to ensure a healthy diet, yet limiting or removing the allergen from their diet.
Regardless of what the cause you need to know that you are not alone in your struggle with these problems, ask advise and try to support your child’s immune system as much as possible. Ensure your child is eating a healthy balanced diet, also try alternative medications to support your child’s system.
September 2024 – going to crèche is going to be taking a toll on your child’s health, it is normal that your child will build up their immune system over time.
This does not mean that is will be an easy time for you as parents.
