How to increase immune system

[Beautitude]

DS has had a horrid time of late with sickness. The last couple of months have literally been one thing after another. We are lucky to get a weeks break before he comes down with something else. I was wondering if there is anything i can try and give him to help strengthen his immune system a bit? He is a terrible eater and very fussy so im worried that he is missing something that is causing him to get sick so often. Due to his fussy eating he is still on formula for the added vitamins etc.

Thanks!

[BellyBelly]

Garlic. Antibacterial and antifungal. Peel two cloves, cut them in halves, leave for 20-30 for the reaction to go and then swallow them - before bedtime if you prefer to spend the night in bed with garlic breath lol Loads of leading health nuts do this, like Dr Mercola and swear by it. You only need to see the many women curing thrush with this in the thread I posted. Also probiotics will help too. Around 80% of the immune system is in the gut.

[chepie]

We have been giving Aiden Probiotics (Inner health) - I mix it into his milk in the mornings and it has really helped his appetite and his eczema... swear by it!!

[BellyBelly]

Crap ignore me. I totally missed the DS bit. I thought you were talking about you. Very tired clearly!

[Beautitude]

lol Kelly, I was kinda wondering how i was meant to get ds to swallow two cloves of garlic, was imagining some wrestling match

[onthefly]

Don't clean the house too much.
Is he in daycare at all?

[Beautitude]

No chance of me cleaning the house too much lol. No he isn't in childcare, we do swimming lessons and do playgroup once a week. We have also just recently started doing kindergym so plenty of chance for his to catch germs off other kids

[Sterla]

I need to know this too! DS is the same at the moment, just sickness after sickness. He's not even in daycare!

LOL at the garlic wrestling match .

[onthefly]

Oh good. So many reasons why that would be unhealthy
Ummm, washing hands after any interaction with other kids...? That's the only thing I really know.
I think they can get to the point where they just need a time-out because their little bodies and immune systems are so totally overrun, especially when they're little.

[butterfly_warrior]

We've had similar issues. Sam's in day care one day per week. I try to feed him stuff with lots of garlic (my immune system has been pretty run down too) so we've been eating lots of spag bol lately! We use brauers recovery tonic when he has bugs, and that does seem to help him get over them a little faster. The other thing I've taken to doing - thoroughly cleaning his face and hands as soon as possible after daycare or when he's spent time with other kids. I've even taken to going over him thoroughly with the wipes as soon as we get in the car - when we got home just wasn't soon enough!

BW

[Beautitude]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I have to increase his hand washing by the sounds of things. The main issue with ds is that he is such a sippy cup robber so even if i manage to clean his hands etc he has probably already ingested half of the germs in the place through sippy cups and pool water!

[jaskie]

I agree with chepie on the Inner Health Immune Booster for kids, great stuff!! You can get it from most health food stores, I think it's about $20 a bottle but should last a while. You will find it in the fridge not with the vitamins. Another really good supplement in helping to build the immune system is Olive Leaf Extract, also from your health food store. And brauers recovery tonic when sick also as previously suggested. Cleaning hands and face is good but try not to be too clean as this will have the opposite effect.

A few books I highly recommend are Immunity foods for healthy kids by Lucy Burney and Healthy Living: Superfoods For Healthy Kids also by Lucy Burney. See if your local library has copies and borrow them for a few weeks. I think you can also get them on line if you want to keep them.

As your DS has been bombarded with one illness after another and so his immune system is constantly in a weakened state. As marcellus suggested you may want to consider having a break from all 'kid' social activities - swimming, playgroup etc for just a couple of weeks or a month so that your DS's immune system is given a chance to build up a bit of strength again. I have found this to be extremely helpful.

With regards to the suggestion of not cleaning the house too often, on some levels I agree and others I disagree. I think marcellus (please correct me if I have misunderstood) was suggesting this as exposure to certain bacteria is helpful in building a healthy immune system, in fact it is a requirement. On this level I definitely agree. The reason I also disagree is that household dust is toxic. Everything in our homes is made from chemicals, some of them highly toxic. For the most part they stay where they are supposed to but some of them, particularly flame retardant chemicals, escape into the air and attach to dust particles which then settle on the floor, furniture etc. The problem with this is that our kids then come into contact with these chemicals and they are absorbed into their bodies in a number of ways. Through breathing them, skin contact and through the mouth (how many kids do you see with toys/objects/fingers in mouth). Dusting is often a chore that is often hated but it is also one way we can reduce our exposure to toxic chemicals in homes. Always use a damp cloth because the more you 'disturb' the dust and make it airborne the more you (and your kids) are breathing it in.

Sorry about the long winded reply

[Melbournemumma]

I agree with the probiotic. Just started ds on this. Also, pentavite makes a liquid multi vitamin for infants that's supposed to work a treat

[Fleur]

Hmmm, we have the same problem here atm
Pie's FDC carer suggested Olive leaf extract, but the bottle I found said not for children under 2 - Jaskie, do you know if you can get a 'baby dose' one?

[jaskie]

Fleur I have not come across one specifically for babies. Naturopaths will tell you that it is ok to give it to a child under 2, you just need to give them a smaller dose. I couldn't tell you how young is too young though or the right dose for your child. I would definitely recommend going to your local health food shop where a qualified naturopath works (most will have one on staff) or look one up (if you do this look for one who specialises with kids) and give them a quick phone call. Most will be happy to answer a simple question like this over the phone. I have come across babies as young as 6 months taking Olive Leaf Extract and other herbal/homeopathic remedies but I would only recommend it after consulting with a naturopath/homeopath.

I hope all your little ones are feeling better soon