RSV….It’s that time of Year
Have you heard of RSV? According to the CDC only 1/3 of moms have heard of this virus. And while our kids have never had RSV, I have had at least two friends whose children have been affected by RSV. One friend goes to my church and recently her son, who is just 4 weeks older than our baby boy, was diagnosed with RSV. Years ago another friend’s baby girl was diagnosed with RSV. I had not heard of it when she called to tell me her daughter was sick with RSV. She was diagnosed at the pediatricians office. Hours later she was admitted to the hospital. She ended up staying in the hospital for over 1 week and at times they were afraid of losing her. RSV is nothing to mess with. It is a serious illness.
So how can we protect our babies?
Start by informing yourself of the common signs of RSV.
“The RSV season typically runs from November through March, so during the winter months parents should be especially careful to watch for signs of RSV. Below are symptoms of severe RSV infection that require immediate medical care:
- Coughing or wheezing that does not stop
- Fast or troubled breathing
- Spread-out nostrils and/or a caved-in chest when trying to breathe
- Bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
- Fever (especially if it is over 100.4°F in infants under 3 months of age)”
Also use some common sense rules
- Wash your hands frequently
- Wash your kids hands frequently. And more importantly if you have older kids make them wash their hands the minute they get home from school.
- Limit the hugs and kisses from others. Obviously grandparents and such want to love on babies but try and limit the amount lavished on your little ones.
- If possible, limit daycare exposure. Of course, some babies are going to be in daycare full time so research and ensure that your daycare is cleaning the toys, blankets etc… daily and that they work to limit the amount of sharing toys with the babies.
- During RSV season you may wish to reconsider playdates, especially if your baby was a preemie or has other risks factors for contracting RSV.
- If people want to hold your baby make sure they are not sick and that they have thoroughly washed their hands.
RSV can be a very serious illness. I hope that all our readers have a safe and healthy RSV season!
“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”
Filed under: Baby, health and beauty, tips
RSV sounds very serious! Great tips on how to prevent getting it. I’ve never known anyone to have this before and I hope that streak continues!
My friend has RSV and it is awful for a little one to go through. Thanks for the tips and making us aware more about it!
My daughter had RSV last year, it was horrible. She was hospitalized for it.. Scary.
Not a fun virus to see your little one go through. I think it’s becoming just as common as URI.
When my son was a baby I hadn’t heard of this but now I have seen this information on several blogs. Its great that people are getting the word out.
these are great tips to share. its so important to keep kids healthy and rsv free.
I’m very grateful none of my kids got RSV, but I know many others that have. And it is a very scary thing for little babies.
RSV is so scary! Happened to my friend’s son! Thanks for sharing these facts!
Oh, yea I have heard of RSV and I know a couple friends that have their kids get it. It is so scary. I have been lucky enough that my kids have never gotten it..but with my month old baby boy, I am very cautious with him. I def. don’t want him to get this!