What can supress the immune system?

[DevaMajka]

Ds1, 5yo, seems to get sick a lot. He's missed about 2.5 weeks of school due to being sick so far this year.
He also has dark circles under his eyes. This could partly be due to complexion, but it gets pretty bad sometimes, seemingly unrelated to amount of sleep.

Could this be related to food additives? Sugar in general? environmental allergies? Or could it just be "normal" for him?

He doesn't drink enough water- it takes a LOT of effort to get him to drink 1c in a day.
He sleeps about 11-12 hours a day. He usually wakes up before it's time to get up for school.
He loves candy. We finally set a limit of 10-15g/day of junk sugar.
He does eat some junky stuff- boxed mac n' cheese, frozen pizza (thanks dp. lol)
BUT he'll eat just about any fruit or veggie he's given.

His behavior is fine. He can be a little rude sometimes, but nothing unexpected for a 5yo. Definitely not aggressive, defiant, etc.
We've never suspected allergies in him. I have a food allergy and some environmental sensitivities. DP has no sensitivities. Ds2 has eczema which definitely seems linked to food (probably salicylates).

Any ideas are appreciated!

[mama1803]

Dark circles under the eyes can definitely be a sign of allergies. My ds' allergy doctor calls them allergic shiners.

And sugar is definitely an immune system suppressant.

[DevaMajka]

Can the dark circles be from food allergies/intolerances? Or only environmental allergies?

sigh. Sugar. We've been trying to find a balance between limiting it and also letting him have *some*. I guess we'll just have to limit it even more.

[kjbrown92]

Dark circles can be from environmental allergies OR food allergies OR food intolerances. You can get sick more often when you're low on Vitamin D too.

[tanyalynn]

For me and the kids, dark circles under the eyes are a combo of food intolerances and gut problems. DD's dark circles got lighter when we cut out gluten and dairy, and lighter still when we eat our kimchee every day--her poop looks better with the kimchee too.

My son used to get sick a lot, it's still borderline, a lot of nutrient deficiencies were involved. I think vit D and zinc were two of the biggies for getting sick.

I've seen both kids get sick more frequently when their guts get out of whack--weird looking poop = catching every little thing that's going around.

[DevaMajka]

Ok, this is helpful.
I'm considering doing some sort of ED with him. I'll have to tread lightly though! I can't imagine it will be easy with a 5yo. Plus, dp thinks it has more to do with sleep, water consumption, and sugar. He doesn't think there's any sort of food sensitivity. But he would totally be on board with cutting out food additives- maybe that would be a place to start.

Do you all think it's a good idea to take multivitamins daily? I give them to ds, but not every day. The whole "artificial vitamins are worse than no vitamins" thing started me doing that. It seemed like a happy medium. lol. But I don't have strong beliefs either way.

He drinks soy milk on cereal (sigh, more sugar), and eats cheese and other dairy. Could he still be low in vit D?

[MountainMamaGC]

You are in Canada so he wont be getting enough Vitamin D from diet alone. I would supplement at least 400 IU each day during the fall, winter, and spring months. Vitamin D is needed for immune system function and many other functions in the body.

[tanyalynn]

I'm white and live in Texas and I supplemented all of us quite a bit because I think we were starting out quite low. Personally I'd probably start around 2000 IU for a while and then test, but check out the vitamin D council's guidelines on getting started.

Personally I think a good multivit is helpful, both to boost up mineral intake and to help with B vits--we should be able to get a reasonable amount from food, but when you've extra stresses and catch-up work, I think it's important. You may want to look into folate, real folate, instead of folic acid. My enviro allergies are related to folate and B12. With motivation and some practice, a 5yo can swallow pills (presuming a regular gag reflex), my 3yo and 6yo swallow adult-sized pills. Thorne makes multivits with real folate, a couple other companies too (for you or the kids or both).

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

sugar. He doesn't think there's any sort of food sensitivity.

Why does your DP assume that there is no food sensitivity? Your OP stated that you have a food allergy and some environmental allergies and your other child has some food sensitivies as well. Being atopic often does run in families.

[DevaMajka]

I think he just thinks that other causes are more likely. We've never noticed any "typical" allergic reactions in ds1 (hives, swelling, etc) or anything that seemed problematic until recently.
He's not opposed to it, necessarily, but I'm sure he'd prefer to eliminate the possibilities of adding supplements, reducing sugar, and working on sleep and water intake.
DP swears by sleep and water for keeping himself well!

Also, my sensitivities don't really affect much anymore, so we don't really think about my allergies, as far as running in the family. If that makes any sense. lol
I have wondered about it though- all of my sensitivites/allergies have developed as an adult. Does that still count as far as my dc's chances of having allergies?

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

I think he just thinks that other causes are more likely. We've never noticed any "typical" allergic reactions in ds1 (hives, swelling, etc) or anything that seemed problematic until recently.
He's not opposed to it, necessarily, but I'm sure he'd prefer to eliminate the possibilities of adding supplements, reducing sugar, and working on sleep and water intake.
DP swears by sleep and water for keeping himself well!

Also, my sensitivities don't really affect much anymore, so we don't really think about my allergies, as far as running in the family. If that makes any sense. lol
I have wondered about it though- all of my sensitivites/allergies have developed as an adult. Does that still count as far as my dc's chances of having allergies?

Hives and swelling would be an IgE allergy. For intolerances, it can be constipation or diarrhea, rashes, eczema, bedwetting, tantrums, "growing pains", night terrors, problems falling asleep, not sleeping well, and all sorts of other things. I didn't have food intolerances (that I knew of) until an adult. My DH and I both have seasonal allergies. My DD1 has seasonal allergies, DS has seasonal allergies and food intolerances, and DD2 has food intolerances.

I had DS tested for Vitamin D before I started supplementing to see where we were.