Did you know that 82% of U.S. children ages 6 weeks to 6 years spend some time in child care? I am not criticizing anyone who uses child care but instead what to make you aware of RSV which is a serious infection. Almost every baby will contract RSV by age 2 but only 1/3 of mothers have ever even heard of it. It doesn’t matter if your child spends 50 hours a week in daycare or never even a single second, the risks are the same.
RSV or Respiratory syncytial virus is a common seasonal virus (November -March) that affects two-thirds of all infants because it is highly contagious. RSV can live on surfaces for several hours and can be spread though hugging, kissing touching, etc, very much like the common cold. Premature babies are very susceptible to infection so contracting something like RSV can put them in serious danger. Which brings me back to day cares! If your child goes to a day care be sure to ask what they are doing to help prevent RSV. Since there is no cure for RSV you need to be sure you and your children are washing your hands, coughing into a tissue or the bend of your sleeve, also remember to keep toys and sheets clean. If your child is sick keep him or her home and away from other children.
If you think your child has RSV seek medical help immediately because serious RSV infection is the leading cause of infant hospitalization, responsible for more than 125,000 hospitalizations and up to 500 infant deaths each year. When taking your child to the hospital or doctor be sure to tell them that your child is sick and ask for a mask for your child to wear to keep from spreading the illness around. For more information visit RSVProtection.com or follow #RSVProtection on Twitter or check out the infograph below!
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
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I would urge pregnant women who have older children in school or day care to be extremely careful. As a preK-K teacher I always advised pregnant moms to drop off/pickup at the door rather than spend time inside the classroom this time of year…just in case. RSV is one of those things that can go around a classroom of smaller kids without anyone knowing what it is but may be very serious for a pregnant woman.
Very scary, I have two friends who have children currently hospitalized due to RSV, they are different ages and in different parts of the country. I experienced it with my oldest seeing him on oxygen was VERY heartbreaking. Thanks for the links with info!
Thank you for sharing this very important problem. We lost our little girl at 4 months to RSV. It comes on so fast that before you know it they are very sick. It is so important for parents to be aware of the signs.
Our little grandson was born very early and they think contracted this. Testing was for some reason not conclusive. But he quit breathing while in the car one day for a short trip. My daughter had to give him complete lifesaving resuscitation. He pulled through and we are very lucky to have him We did have day care here so that he was NOT put into bigger setting, as they said no day care centers for him due to low immune system. We did wash well and took precautions, and he was only here for a short time before getting sick. Although, I have watched closely the “clean policy’ of those in clinics. Not crushing them but what I saw was not a lot of hand washing …only a few seconds really. And then other parents and kids into the exam rooms touching EVERYthing, including doorknobs, etc. There is really no way to keep all germs out, but it is very important to keep so many people away from infants. When someone is born EVERYONE wants to meet them, hold them, talk to them. It is probably not the best thing for the first few months to have lots of visitors or many outings.
Thanks for the info, this is something that we all should be aware about. My heart goes out to all those parents who have experienced this painful situation.
cleanliness and good hygiene do help but i also believe our children have weaker immune systems because of over-sterilization, excess antibiotic/antibacterial use, and our poor eating habits
This really is good information, especially for me, since I just took my son out of a daycare that keeps getting warnings from inspectors about hand washing! I am SO glad I did that, I truly had no idea!
RSV is scary and very common. I am amazed how many children catch it each year compred to years ago it not being as widespread.
I honestly have not heard of this before. It’s great that there are so many people out there being so informative since it’s so hard to keep track of what’s going on these days.
That’s pretty scary 🙁 My toddler had a nanny situation with family and friends rather than a group daycare, but still managed to catch colds that our friend’s child brought over. I wonder how many adults taking public transportation such as buses catch it but only show cold symptoms and then pass it along to their babies.