RSV: What it is and How to Avoid it!
RSV: What it is and How to Avoid it!
by: Jasmine Reed
If you’ve tuned in to the news lately, or kept up with your Facebook feed, then you’ve probably seen several stories regarding Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is a highly contagious virus that infects the respiratory tract. According to WebMD.com, it’s very likely that most children will contract the virus before their second birthday. But it doesn’t just effect infants and toddlers. It’s sometimes compared to the common cold in adults, but for infants 6 months and younger, and the elderly, it can be as serious as requiring hospitalization. You usually see this virus take its course during the winter months. Though it hasn’t felt like much of a winter this year, the number of reported RSV cases, says otherwise. We want to equip with you as much info as possible so that you can know some common causes of the virus, ways to prevent those things from happening, and symptoms to look out for, if your little one is infected.
Common Causes & Symptoms
One of the main causes of RSV in infants, is the sweet and well-intentioned kisses from yourself or other loving relatives. Especially in seasons where things like the cold, flu and pneumonia are going around, it’s best to refrain from such activity. Any sort of close contact with sick people puts your little one at risk. According to WebMD.com, infants at a particularly higher risk are preemies, infants with weaker immune systems due to additional medical conditions and children 2 years and younger who were born with heart or lung disease. Some other causes can include things like you shaking hands with other people, sharing any sort cups or utensils and touching doorknobs, handles and the like, throughout your day. Though unintentional, when you’re snuggling and caring for your little one, you’re passing along all those germs to them.
Some symptoms to look out for include:
Wheezing
Unusually fussy or disinterested/disengaged
Discolored mucus when they cough. It’d either be yellow, green, or gray.
Shortness of breath
No appetite
Dehydration
There are some preventative measures you can take to minimize the likelihood that your little one will contract the virus, and we’ll talk about those next!
Prevention
Unfortunately, you cannot minimize your little one’s chances of getting sick to 100%, but here are five ways you can make strides toward keeping them as healthy as possible:
· Avoid or limit their exposure to potentially, highly contagious settings (malls, airports, grocery stores, etc.).
· Don’t allow others to kiss to your baby and limit the amount that you do so, especially during cold & flu season.
· Have close relatives and friends thoroughly wash their hands before holding or interacting with the baby.
· Cover your coughs or sneezes using a tissue or the inside of your elbow, instead of your hands.
·Avoid mixing in or using their dishes and utensils with everyone else’s in the house.
We hope this post was helpful! If you want to know more information about RSV and things to look out for, check out the following articles:
https://www.webmd.com/lung/rsv-in-babies#1
https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/nrevss/rsv/state.html#AL
https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/about/prevention.html