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Protect Little Lungs: RSV Signs & Prevention

Protect little lungs from RSV by knowing the signs and symptoms and how to prevent it!

This post was sponsored as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

When you become a new mom, you start worrying about anything. You worried about the first sniffle, the first cough, the first, well, everything. By the time you have another one though, you stop worrying.

Until there is something to worry about.

 

When my youngest was a baby, we learned early on that he had some respiratory issues. He seemed to always catch every cold and cough going around. And we have had our scare with RSV a few times. You sit patiently watching a pulse ox monitor praying it’s above 90. You sit and hold him as he does a breathing treatment and hope that it helps raise his numbers. You sit and hold your breath and hope you don’t hear “We have to send you to the hospital.”

We came close a handful of time. Thankfully, we never had to go down that road and he was never diagnosed with RSV.

When it comes to RSV season, it’s important to know the not only the signs and symptoms but also ways to prevent RSV.

RSV Signs & Symptoms

In many babies, RSV leads to a mild respiratory infection with symptoms similar to the common cold or flu, but in some – babies born prematurely (earlier than 35 weeks gestational age) – it can develop into a much more serious infection. Parents should look out for symptoms of severe RSV disease, including:

  • coughing or wheezing that does not stop
  • fast or troubled breathing; gasping for breath
  • a bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
  • unusual lethargy or tiredness; or a fever (especially if it is greater than 100.4 degrees F [rectal] in infants under 3 months of age)

Because RSV has similar symptoms to colds or bronchiolitis or even juvenile asthma, it’s important to stay vigilant to never hesitate to take your child to the doctor. Go with your mother’s intuition! It has never steered me wrong.

RSV Prevention

With no current treatment option available, learning the signs and symptoms of RSV disease and taking preventative measures is very important. You can do several things to help protect their child’s little lungs from severe RSV disease, including:

  • asking everyone to wash their hands after entering the house and before interacting with the children
  • washing toys and surfaces frequently to reduce the chance of exposure
  • keeping children away from people who may be sick and away from large crowds.

It’s also important for parents to ask their child’s pediatrician if their child may be at high risk for severe RSV disease. Knowing my son had asthma, I knew he might be at risk for RSV. We would also amp up our hand washing and keep him away from other’s who were currently sick.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://agrandelife.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RSV-Awareness-Month-Infographic.pdf” title=”RSV Awareness Month Infographic”]

National RSV Awareness Month takes place every October as a time to educate parents about respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, before the “RSV season.” RSV is a common, highly contagious, seasonal virus that affects nearly 100% of infants by the age of two and occurs in epidemics from November through March.

 

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