Pediatrician Questions Pediatrician

Why does my child get frequent colds?

My son is 6 years old and he is getting frequent colds. What could be the cause?

6 Answers

Many children of school age may have common colds once a month. Teach your child proper hand hygiene, washing hands with warm water for 20 seconds, not touching their mouth and nose areas frequently and you may give them daily vitamins and probiotics to help with the immune system. It’s very common for kids to get common colds frequently.
Some kids are more prone to getting colds. You also want to make sure it’s not allergies. Sometimes allergy symptoms are mistaken for colds.
Children below the age of 8 or 9 will routinely get a viral illness as often as every 5 or 6 weeks, especially during the school year. The memorable illnesses will generally be the result of complications caused by underlying predispositions such as asthma or anatomy issues leading to ear or sinus infections. Repeated complications that do not readily respond to routine therapy should prompt an evaluation of the immune system. Allergies can clearly lead to increased complications or be mistaken for a “cold.”
At age six it is not uncommon for a child to get just one viral respiratory infection after the other. It is usually because of exposure to upper respiratory virus at school. Other risk factors include 1. Cigarette smoke exposure in the home. 2. Having allergies increases risk. 3. Underlying immune system problems very unlikely unless he is having other infections of skin, lungs, frequent ear infections
Kids usually pick up colds in school. Most likely explanation is that he gets the colds at school, which is very common. You could have him tested for “frequent colds”, if you wanted.
Usually from exposure to other children. Advise frequent hand washings, protection from aerosols and coughing. The usual hygiene measures.