For Parents How do you keep your gymie healthy?

[Blackie6]

Ever since meet season started I feel like my DD has had a cold, sniffles, sore throat, stuffy nose almost all the time. No fever or anything that required going to the doctor yet. Since our last couple meets have been on Saturday they haven't been practicing as much hours wise but still my DD seems worn out. Last year after states she ended up with Pneumonia and I don't want that again. What are your tips, suggestions for keeping your DD's health and cootie free during meet season?

I have started to give her a chewable vitamin daily but still she seems like she is on the verge of coming down with something.

 

[emorymom]

Perhaps her vitamin D levels are way down from summer levels and this is affecting her immune system. Between school and gym she probably does not have time to get mid-day sun. My M.D. thinks Vitamin D is very important and even though my levels came back in the lower end of "lab normal" range at the end of September ... and I was still tan from being outside a lot ... she put me on a supplement.

 

[msl529]

I am a big fan of making sure they get plenty of rest. Does your HC allow them to miss practice sometimes? I enforce a day off from gym for dd on average of 3 days a month (sometimes more, sometimes less) just so dd has a day to rest & vegetate. If your dd seems overly-tired on a given day, can you just 'call in sick' for her?

And is she eating enough before practice? My dd has such a fast metabolism we have to constantly pump her full of good food to sustain all her activity. She gets two 'dinners'-one before practice & one after! Before gym is usually a carb like pasta or rice or bagel/cream cheese, & fruit & a cookie or something, just to get her bloood sugar kicking.

If you do all this, and your kid eats a well-balanced diet, & still seems on the verge of sickness all the time, maybe you should see her MD. I also do know some kids who are just more 'sickly'. They just seem to get sicker than most when they are sick, and they are also sick more frequently than others. I guess there's not much that can be done about that.

You might also make sure she's not a finger/hand in mouth/face all the time type of kid. If she does this a lot at gym, then she is picking up some nasty bugs!

DD has a gymmie friend who goes as far as to have a mini 'Purell' bottle hooked to her gym bag & she uses it often while at gym! I just try to remind dd to keep her hands away from her face & to wash them when she can.

Dont' know if this helped!?

Good luck, & here's wishing your dd lots of good health this Season!
Pneumonia after States does NOT sound like fun, poor little thing!

 

[gym law mom]

You might want to have her checked for allergies. This year has been tough on many that have been borderline on allergies.

I agree on making she sure she gets 8-9 hours of sleep. If she's really draggy on a day before practice either call her in sick or pull her out early. I don't think they get much out of practice when they're tired anyway.

Healthy diet with a multi-vitamin will help, won't keep her from getting sick, but should help her immune system a little.

Big time on the handwashing---especially right after practice. Even if she washes her hands after a potty break, she goes back out into the gym and is touching bars, mats, vault and beams which some other kid could have just sneezed on. Same thing at school.

When my gymmie switched gyms last year, she had almost non stop sinus complaints. Old gym was larger and had 2 Chalk Eaters by the bars. New gym was older/smaller and no Chalk Eater. We figured out the excess chalk(which she wasn't used to) was most likely the cause of her sinus complaints. I restarted an over the counter allergy medication(ex. Claritin) and also Sudafed before practice. Didn't make all of her symptons disappear, but they decreased alot. Now we have a Chalk Eater and I've kept her on allergy med all year----no problems. She wasn't allergic to the chalk, more that it was just an irritant.

 

[Linsul]

My daughter has pretty bad allergies, and it shows up as cold-like symptoms. All the drainage makes her cough and her nose runny. Other than that I do give her a multi vitamin and a probiotic daily. She eats well, but would drink juice all day if I let her. After seeing plenty of otherwise healthy kids in the gym suddenly break bones lately, DD is drinking a glass of milk a day along with water. She can have juice if she's had one or both of the above already.

 

[bogwoppit]

Chalk eater, GLM can you tell me what that is?

My girls both has asthma and allergies, so back to school is always tough. They take singualir and the minute a cough shows up we get quickly onto a regime of inhalers.

In our house sleep is a biggie, I have always made sure that they have regualr bedtimes that are always enforced, very rare to find my kids up late. Girls are in bed at 8:30 - 9PM depending on whether it was a gym night or not. They always have a bath to relax beforehand. Oldest lights out at 10pm and he's 16.

The kids eat a lot of fruits and vegs, we are always making smoothies with fruit and yogourt. Anything to get the nutrients in. We don't buy junk food or eat at fast food joints. Subway is about as reckless as we get!

Handwashing is big, I keep a bottle of purell in the car for after gym.

But they do get sick, as G:LM said allerigies, that often look and feel like colds, have been very bad this year. I can feel it myself. I had a never ending cold, went to the DR who announced that I too had allergies. A few days with inhalers/claritin and I was right as rain.

It is tough though, some kids just seem to get everything no matter how hard you try. I feel for your little DD, it is no fun to be feeling under the weather.

 

[Linsul]

In our house sleep is a biggie, I have always made sure that they have regualr bedtimes that are always enforced, very rare to find my kids up late. Girls are in bed at 8:30 - 9PM depending on whether it was a gym night or not. They always have a bath to relax beforehand. Oldest lights out at 10pm and he's 16.

I never mention sleep because I assume everyone has their kids go to bed at a decent hour, but they don't!! I have friends who let their kids wander about aimlessly, cranky and tired, until they finally collapse. Insanity. The tantrums and general badness that can be avoided are as good as the health benefits If that's not enough, 8:30 ish is when all the good tv shows come on...and who wants to deal with cranky kids during Heroes..really?!

 

[msl529]

Chalk eater, GLM can you tell me what that is?

.

GLM does not seem to be on right now, so I'll answer.

A chalk eater is a kind of filtering machine (looks like a giant AC unit) that sucks in the air & surrounding, airborne chalk particles and 'eats' (i.e. removes) the chalk from the air. Seems to help. Lots of gyms have them, including ours.

 

[gym law mom]

Bog you can just google Chalk Eater. Only 1 company makes them and DGS sells them. I thought they would be alot more expensive than they are---go for about $1700 and are portable. Our HC said there is a nicer one that hangs from the ceiling, but is more expensive. Most gyms set them up right by the bars and its amazing how much clearer the air is.

About the only upkeep on them is changing out filters.

 

[mariposa]

Sorry she is battling with stuffy nose, etc. That sucks.

Around our house, we mostly try to eat healthy foods, avoid a lot of sugar, processed foods etc. We do have those in moderation, but we also eat a lot of healthy food, the girls love fruit, veggies, cheese, etc. I definitely agree on the getting enough rest. Abby gets about 10 hours a night.

When they even get a slight runny nose, we use this elderberry syrup and they are usually better within a day or 2. We are rarely sick around here. I use this elderberry syrup for adults on myself and my hubby and we recover quick as well. We add lots of vit C during those times as well. Abby can swallow pills, so when sick, she takes a 1000mg tablet of this brand that is easy on stomach. Mimi usually takes 1 or 2 500mg chewables. Not sure if this all really works, or if we are just lucky, but we do it anytime we start to get sick and we don't get really really sick.

I also use a neti pot for myself and the girls (when they let me). It is great for those with allergies as well. It feels really good and I definitely feel like I am better quicker. I hate using medication unless necessary. This is the one we use around here. We use the one that looks like a genie bottle. I discovered it when I got a sinus infection while pregnant and wouldn't take any medication and it was awesome.

We get our medications at Sprouts, but you can find it at most health food type stores on online at Amazon.

I would definitely check out the allergy theory as well. Allergies can often look like a cold.

Good luck getting her to feel better.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

Mine seem to get sick more than other kids as well. DS is a hands in the mouth (you would think he would have outgrown that by now). DD has asthma so like Bogs she is on Singular (I must say this has made a HUGE difference) and any sign of cough or sniffles we break out the nebulizer w/ the pulmicort & if needed albuterol. She tends to get some sort of pnuemonia (walking or otherwise) each year

We are going to try more rest this winter. Cold seems to be the main trigger for her asthma or if she picks up a cold.

I would say eat healthy, hand washing, vitamin & rest.

 

[mariposa]

Perhaps her vitamin D levels are way down from summer levels and this is affecting her immune system. Between school and gym she probably does not have time to get mid-day sun. My M.D. thinks Vitamin D is very important and even though my levels came back in the lower end of "lab normal" range at the end of September ... and I was still tan from being outside a lot ... she put me on a supplement.

Vitamin D is a Key Player in Your Overall Health - Articles

 

[gymgramma]

Hey Mariposa Mama - what does that brand of elderberry syrup taste like? Is it hard to get the girls to take it?

 

[mariposa]

Hey Mariposa Mama - what does that brand of elderberry syrup taste like? Is it hard to get the girls to take it?

My girls love it. It tastes like boysenberry or blackberry syrup. I hate liquid stuff, but I actually like it as well. Yum.

 

[FlipsLeos]

I agree with checking for allergies!! I took middle dd in for ear issues last year to a new pediatrician and the first thing he asked about was her "cold". It was the first year she was in school (preK) and I had just assumed it was her picking up every single bug, but he felt it was allergies and put her on VeraMyst. Made a WORLD of difference to her!!

I also make sure she gets plenty of rest. If she's run down in the slightest, she picks things up a lot easier and has a harder time fighting them off. Her sibs don't seem to have the same issues - it's weird.