Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with Latina Bloggers Connect and MedImmune. However all opinions expressed are 100% my own.
RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus is a common seasonal virus. You may have heard me mention it before. Nearly 100% of all babies contract it by their second birthday. Most parents are not aware of the dangers and even though African-American and Hispanic babies are at an increased risk many Hispanic mothers have never even heard of RSV. Premature babies are at an even higher risk. Learning the ABCs of RSV is an important step in prevention.
A is for Awareness
Knowing that RSV is a seasonal virus and it occurs in epidemics each year (November-March) can help you better prepare. Those months are the months were you need to be extra careful with your baby and germs. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies in their first year of life.
B is for Babies
Premature babies are at the most risk for developing severe RSV. The reason is their underdeveloped lungs. Premature birth rates have grown 6% in Hispanics over the last decade. That is huge because many Hispanic mothers have never heard of RSV which means their babies at a bigger risk.
C is for Contagious
RSV is very contagious! It can be spread through touching, coughing, and sneezing. It is important that you learn the symptoms of RSV:
- Persistent Cough or wheezing
- Bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
- Rapid, difficult, or gasping breaths
- Fever especially if over 100.4 (rectal) in infants under 3 months of age.
Learning the ABCs is important because there is no treatment for RSV. It is important that you take your child to his or her pediatrician. Don’t avoid it because of healthcare costs. Also prevention is important! Wash your hands before you touch your baby and insist that other do the same, keep baby’s toys and sheets clean, during the months when RSV is in season avoid large crowds if possible. Most of the prevention is common sense, check out the infographic below and visit RSVprotection.com for more information!
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Thank you for helping to spread the word about RSV. It is a very important issue and needs to be talked about. Education is the key to knowing how to prevent it and what signs to look for in your child. This is a very serious illness. We lost our daughter to RSV at 4 1/2 months. It comes on fast and attacks babies very quickly.
I wasn’t aware of RSV, wow thank you for sharing the information, so many new illnesses, it’s getting pretty scary!
I’ve been aware of RSV, but until recently I never realized how serious it was for young children. I’m glad more people are raising awareness of it.
This is such important information for parents of newborns. My youngest was born in December and I was a total Nazi about making people wash their hands and/or use sanitizer before holding her. We also stayed in to avoid exposure.