Why is my child always sick?

A child who seems permanently snuffly is usually a normal child with an undertrained immune system. MedlinePlus notes adults average 2 to 3 colds per year and children have even more - and more than 200 different viruses cause colds, so each one your child meets is a first exposure. Their immune system has to learn every virus one at a time, and that education looks exactly like being always sick. Nursery and school accelerate the curriculum: dozens of children swapping viruses, plus younger kids' habit of putting everything in their mouths. Each cold also lasts longer in young children - the NHS notes symptoms can linger, with irritability and feeding or sleep disruption - so one cold can bleed into the next with no healthy gap between. The result is a child who is realistically fighting something for much of autumn and winter, especially in the first nursery years. The reassurance: this pattern peaks and then falls as the immune library fills; most children grow out of it. The patterns that genuinely need a GP: infections that are unusually severe (pneumonia more than once), infections needing repeated antibiotics or hospital care, poor growth or weight gain, thrush that persists, or infections in unusual places - those combinations justify checking the immune system itself. Otherwise: handwashing, flu vaccination where offered, smoke-free air, and patience are the medicine. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, that can help you review your child's pattern.