Common Cold Again and Again

[ibcdbwc]

Okay. DS had "impressive sinus infection" late November diagnosed by ENT. Nasal turbinates were huge, red but with a bogginess that suggested allergy too. Three weeks of Suprax. Resolved. Gets another cold, another "sinus incident" and PANS flare early January. Allergy testing finally shows high allergy to dust mites (previously tested negative." We've done all the dust preventions. We've done sinus rinses. Prescribed an intranasal antihistamine/steroid spray. Gets another cold and cough and does okay, mid January but one week later turbinates look awful again, snoring, headache and a HUGE PANS flare. Seven days of Suprax then now on Zith forever. Has a good six days!!! YAY!!! Now he's in bed with chills, cold, left nasal turbinate huge… no flare yet but scared.

 

ENT didn't think fungal. But he does also have chronic itching under one arm. I'm thinking his gut is a complete mess despite probiotics.

 

We see Dr. B next week but in the meantime I am bracing for another storm. Seems I just can't keep him well!

Edited February 22, 2014 by ibcdbwc

[mama2alex]

DS13 has had 4 illnesses over a space of 3 1/2 months this winter. He no longer has PANS flares with illness, but I still started to worry that something was up with his immune system.

 

I made 3 changes, FWIW. First, I realized I'd run out of his multi-vitamin at some point and was no longer giving it, so I bought more. I had also (purposely) suspended giving him glutathione, which is an anti-oxidant, so I re-started that immediately. The last thing I did was to start juicing as soon as he seemed to be coming down with something, just to push the extra nutrients. Its been 2 weeks since last illness, so we're in wait and see mode as to whether these measures helped.

 

Your intuition about his gut makes sense, but have you checked his nutrient status? Also, have you done a nasal swab for staph?

[philamom]

This was the exact scenario when my daughter was younger. Dr. B will be helpful.

[rowingmom]

My thought is that the continual sinus involvement is an indication of chronic sinus infection (bacterial/fungal) of some sort that is not being addressed by the present treatment.

Edited February 22, 2014 by rowingmom

[nicklemama]

My son had cold after cold after cold which resulted in sinus infection after sinus infection which resulted in PANDAS behaviors..... He was started on Claritin daily after he was diagnosed with allergies by an allergist (skin prick testing). I don't think he actually had cold after cold. It was his allergies. Now, when he gets a cold, it goes away quickly. His allergies (and mine) have been terrible this winter, the worst in a while. We both have dust/mite allergies. Claritin every day helps and when his nose gets stuffy, I use Flonase on him. We've weathered about 6 weeks of allergies/cold and so far, so good.

[ibcdbwc]

Thanks everyone. My feeling is that's it all of the above. I think his gut is wrecked. I think his nutrient status could definitely be better. I think he may have underlying bacterial or fungal issues that are not being effectively treated and maybe even worse with the nasal spray. I think the allergies exacerbate everything. And the PANS flares which have been so incredibly dramatic (after such a nice "remission") have been very stressful- thereby weakening him further. I don't know which issue or what came first. We're exhausted. I'm so hoping Dr. B can get this all sorted out for us!

 

Nicklemma- I have thought that he needs to be on claritin/allegra or something but in the past he's always hyped up with oral H1 blockers. We've actually used H2 blockers a few years ago (pepcid). Maybe though he's grown out of that sensitivity and we should try him on Claritin again. I know the allergies must beat him down. He's never tested positive before for anything even though you could see that he had allergies.

 

We're getting our house checked for mold too….

[Mommy2MCL]

I thought I had posted to this but I was half asleep... Our doctor mentioned something called biofilms in the sinuses. Basically the way I understood it is that the biofilms hold in the bacteria...

 

Here is what he suggested to try...

 

Get the Sinus Rinse bottle, the one with the black top that you apply pressure too. For the 1st two days use Afrin to open up the sinuses. Then discontinue after the 2nd day. In the sinus rinse bottle mix 3 drops Johnson Baby Shampoo in with warm water. Wash sinuses 2x a day. The thought is the soap will help break down the waxy biofilm and allow the bacteria to wash out.

[qannie47]

I was chronic sinusitis sufferer until I used the netti pod. I think the key difference is that the pod contains a lot of water and really does a great job of flushing out the sinus's. The other ones, sprays, and bottles were too expensive and I was inclined to use them sparingly. I also started off 3 times a day for first 2 weeks. That's how much rinsing it took to do the job...After, it was twice then once a day as a regime during allergy season.