immune boosters?

[mrsflibble]

every year in november soph begins to get ill and doesnt really get better from repeated thrush, ear infections, throat infections, chest infections and gastero-intestinal infections on and off til march.

is there any way i can naturally boost her immune system? she's nearly three and i have no idea how much she weighs but could find out.

[starchild]

Will she eat garlic? If so, add this to her cooked meals.
In addition, a spoonful of very non-frugal manuka honey per day can work wonders.
Other herbs to help her immune system are thyme, sage and oregano - use them liberally in meals.

herbal teas are a good way to help her too - get something like raspberry and echinacea and if she's not used to them you could make a concentrated amount and add it to whatever she normally drinks.

The first line of defense for me is always food, so make sure her diet is healthy and that she has no intolerances as these can compromise the immune system.

Supplements are ok, but at three I would personally try and do things with diet and adding some of the herbal remedies mentioned.

Essential oils are great too - a drop of lavender, one of tea tree and perhaps one of eucalyptus dispersed in 50mls of base oil for a nightly massage - ain't nothing better than a mama massage ;)

early to bed, lots of outdoors exercise, not too hot in the house - ya know, good old fashioned stuff :)
And hearty soups and stews to which you add your lovely healing foods.

My feeling is that her bacteria levels in her gut are not optimum. She sounds like a text book candida case to me - has she had antibiotics or did you need them during pregnancy? I would be inclined to take her off dairy, sugar and yeast for a bit and give her a child's supplement of acidophilus (you can get an excellent one from Biocare) for a couple of months if you can. not easy, but I think you might see some amazing results if you can do it.
I know many people think this sort of thing is totally crazy, so take what is helpful and leave the rest.

Good luck!

[prison break fan]

Absolutely agree with everything starchild said. Good luck! pbf

[MrsD'ville mkII]

Has it already begun this year? I only ask as children can grow out of this sort of susceptibility. On the basis that you're feeding her all the usual immune-boosting foods, you could look at anything undesirable that's crept into her diet. The obvious baddies at this time of year are sweet festive food and drink that you seem to encounter everywhere, as sugar can actively compromise the immune system. Like pp I tend to look to diet before anything else. I have candidiasis too but it restricts itself to gut problems with the odd eczema flare-up, rather than colds and infections. Live yog is a useful boost if good gut bacteria are a bit low.

Better luck this year!

[lilypotter]

Give your baby one goose berry with honey daily. this will really work wonders.

[Brij]

I always depend on echinacea myself when I know I'm about to be prone to getting poorly. It can be found in most big pharmacies, and there will be instructions on the pack. It's normally something you take for a couple of weeks as a booster, then stop so it doesn't lose its efficacity, but I would imagine if she took it for the first couple of weeks of November, then again when the temperature drops (I guess December or January), then again when you feel it is necessary.

Good luck Flibster!

[Green Aura]

Good advice from starchild, with one proviso.
If you're going to use Eucalyptus on a 3 year old make sure you buy Eucalyptus smithii, not globulus which is far too strong for kids.

The only other thing I would add is to check out if her problems are caused by environmental factors. I know you had a major damp problem. Make sure all the areas Sophie spends a lot of time in are free of damp or mildew type visitors and well-ventilated. If she's susceptible to moulds, which it sounds like she is, you need to make sure there are as few as possible about.

[mrsflibble]

thanks everyone, well in the time since the post was first made, she hasn't started being ill yet (amazing cos it's normally the end of sept that it begins) and we've made efforts to cut down the sugars. not to help her immune system per-se, but because she suffers from candidiasis if she has too much sugar, caffeine, yeast or too many raspberries, apricots or raw mushrooms. so long as we limit her intake, we dont have to cut anything out.

i've noticed a link between mould and her chest, we have a bit of a mould problem in her room around the window, and in the livingroom but i try to keep it down as best i can. without the double glazing being removed we'll never cure it though, but it's not our responsability; we rent.

well, i shall keep you updated lol!!

[spughy]

I would also add to the excellent advice already provided that a vitamin D supplement would probably help also - probably in the neighbourhood of 1500 to 2000 IU per day. That's what I give my 32-lb 4 year old, if your child is significantly larger up it a little. I personally take around 3500 IU per day. Neither my daughter nor I have had any illness more serious than a minor sniffle for the last few years, even after she started school. But, we don't have any underlying problems like candida or anything, so it might not be so effective for you - can't hurt though!