What Is The Respiratory Syncytial Virus?
From WedMD, RSV is a common and highly contagious virus that infects the respiratory tract of most children before their second birthday. Your respiratory tract is pretty much any part of your body that air touches and aids in the breathing process. Your nose, throat, lungs, etc. For most children the symptoms get no worse than a common cold. Other children may develop bronchitis or pneumonia, which can be a a greater risk for smaller children.
How Do I Know If My Child Has The Respiratory Syncytial Virus?
Like I said earlier, most symptoms for RSV are similar to a common cold. Coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and usually last a couple of weeks. Other symptoms that may require a visit to your pediatrician are difficulty breathing, high fever, if the slime coming from your little ones nose thickens up, and a refusal to eat.
The best medicine, as in most cases, is prevention. It is easily spread from person to person by people touching anything that has the virus on it. So keep your hands clean by washing them, clean and disinfect surfaces, prevent smokers from being around your baby, do not allow others to touch baby without washing up, don't kiss baby if you are feeling sick, and keep your baby away from anybody experiencing cold symptoms. There is no vaccine for RSV, but there are medications your doctor can give to your little ones to prevent any more serious complications.
There is no medicine to cure your baby of the virus. So it is important to treat the symptoms and to prevent infection. Do so by; Removing nasal fluid with a bulb, use a humidifier to keep the air moist, keep baby hydrated, and give your baby fever-reducers that do not contain aspirin. Babies being hospitalized for RSV may need supplemental oxygen, IV fluids and medications to open up their airways.
