About a year ago the “virus that never went away” started in my household. It was right after Halloween. My middle daughter came home with a runny nose. From a simple runny nose everything else seemed to spiral downward. Soon after my oldest daughter was diagnosed with an infection. My little guy started displaying symptoms of a cold in the meantime. Less than a week later I had all three kids sick. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel as all kids received the meds they needed and started getting better, but about 3 weeks after all these illnesses started, I noticed my little guy still had congestion in his chest and seemed lethargic at times. I followed up with his doctor again and he swabbed his nose and sent the sample out to a lab. I thought he was testing for the flu, not realizing this is how they tested for RSV. My oldest daughter had RSV at a year old and while it was a scary time for us, she was treated at home with a nebulizer. When the tests indicated my little guy did in fact have RSV, I was scared, knowing RSV in an infant under 1 year of age can be complicated.
October is the month we raise awareness and shed light on RSV. Little lungs are fragile and RSV can be avoided with simple steps such as proper hand washing and keeping sick people away from your baby. With multiple kids in the house its difficult to do this, but essential in keeping your youngest family members healthy. RSV rates rise between November and March, and are the leading cause of hospitalization for babies in their first year of life.
After months of breathing treatments my little guy recovered from RSV. There was a time his symptoms worsened and I was aware of the complications involved. Some babies can become seriously ill and become hospitalized to monitor their symptoms.
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