How Many Infections in a Child is "Normal" Per Year?

Kids get a lot of infections... but at what point should a parent be concerned on how often these infections occur, particularly upper respiratory infections?

A German study went about to determine the answer to just that question... They prospectively followed 760 children born in 1990 and followed them for 12 years. Parents recorded the child’s illnesses in a diary and answered structured questions yearly up to age 12.

This is what they found... The mean number of infections per year for each age group (standard deviation):

• 0-2 years: 3.4 episodes (3.7) per year
• 3-5 years: 2.3 episodes (2.6) per year
• 6-12 years: 1.1 episodes (1.2) per year

Two standard deviations above the mean can be still considered within normal limits, though on the high side of normal:

• 0-2 years: 11 episodes per year

• 3-5 years: 8 episodes per year

• 6-12 years: 4 episodes per year

If a child gets more than this number of infections per year, one may need to consider possible immunodeficiency.

Source:

History of respiratory infections in the first 12 yr among children from a birth cohort. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. Volume 19, Issue 6, pages 505–512, September 2008.

How many respiratory infections in children are "normal" per year? Allergy Notes by Dr. Ves.

Machine Gun Sneezing

ABC News on November 11, 2009 aired a story about a 12 year old girl with an unfortunate condition called "machine gun sneezing". Apparently, she sneezes up to 16 times a minute all day except while sleeping and started after recovering from a mild cold.

To be frank, it's a condition I've never seen before.

Per an allergist interviewed for this story, the condition is extremely rare and "can be triggered by hundreds of causes, including allergies, sinus problems, or growths in the nasal passage."

Read more here. A video of the report can also be found at the link.

This girl was eventually found to have a diagnosis called PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus)! Read more here.