- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common pediatric illness that spreads through droplets like flu and COVID-19.
- The virus is on the rise as flu season begins, putting vulnerable children at risk of serious complications.
- Find out how to prevent the spread (hint: it will protect you against other viruses too).
Have you been hearing about RSV recently? This respiratory disease many young children get is on the rise—just as we enter a flu season that looks more serious than it has been in recent years.
What is RSV and how can you protect the children in your life from getting it?
Donald Kees, M.D., Carilion Clinic’s interim chair of Pediatrics, recently spoke with WSLS about the rise of RSV in our region. Watch the video and read on to learn more about this common, and often dangerous, early childhood illness.
What Is RSV?
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that is usually seen in babies and toddlers. Like other respiratory diseases, it spreads through large droplets in the air and by contact with surfaces that have the virus on them.
Most children are infected by RSV at least once in their first three years. While the majority get through it with supportive care at home, RSV results in more hospital visits than any other illness they contract. The virus can be life-threatening for:
- Premature babies in first year of life
- Infants under 6 months
- Children with asthma
- Patients of any age with a weakened immune system or underlying lung or heart problems
RSV starts as an upper respiratory infection, with symptoms that look like the common cold. It can quickly spread into the lower respiratory tract, however, where it can lead to pneumonia and bronchiolitis.
Dr. Kees has seen young patients who test positive for both RSV and COVID-19.
“So yes,” he said, “you can have two viruses at the same time.”
Some experts also believe that a serious RSV infection in young children may also be correlated with an increased risk of developing asthma and allergies in later years.
How To Prevent RSV
Since little ones tend to put everything they can into their mouths, including their hands, it makes sense that so many of them come into contact with the virus.
Prevention is essential, because Anthony Baffoe-Bonnie, M.D., of Carilion Clinic’s Infectious Diseases team, says that flu season is ramping up earlier than it has in recent years.
“Typically, we would at this time be seeing very low or no flu activity at all,” said Dr. Baffoe-Bonnie. Instead, we are already seeing “moderate” levels of flu activity in our region.
“This year we are beginning to see quite an active and robust season very early on,” he said.
There is no vaccine for RSV, so the best ways to prevent infection are
- Thorough and frequent hand washing
- Disinfecting toys and surfaces that babies may touch
- Masking around children in your care if you are sick
The annual rates of flu and RSV dropped during the past few years, while most of us were isolating and wearing masks to protect against COVID-19.
“With masking, we did not see as much influenza or RSV,” said Dr. Baffoe-Bonnie, “and it’s very likely that masking does prevent these infections from being transmitted.”
Signs and Symptoms of RSV
For many children and adults, RSV may feel and look like the common cold. And unless a person is specifically tested for RSV, they many never know they had it.
For mild cases, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends taking the following steps to help your child feel more comfortable while they are infected:
- Using nasal saline with gentle suctioning to allow easier breathing and feeding.
- Using a cool-mist humidifier to help break up mucus and allow easier breathing.
- Increasing fluids and feeding more frequently, even if they don’t feel like eating.
- Acetaminophen or ibuprofen for children older than 6 months who have low-grade fevers.
Dr. Kees concurs, especially about suctioning with a bulb syringe.
“Suctioning of the nose is the most important thing you can do for infants with RSV,” he said, “especially before they lay down to sleep and when they eat.”
When To Seek Medical Care for RSV
AAP recommends contacting your pediatrician if your child has cold symptoms and:
- Is younger than 3 months
- Has ever been diagnosed with asthma or reactive airways disease
- Has a fever (above 100.4° in babies up to 3 months; above 101° for ages 3-6 months; above 102° for 6 months and older)
- Has daytime symptoms that last for more than 10 days
- Has cold symptoms that return a day or two after fading
- Tugs at an ear and develops an earache
- Produces thick yellow or green sputum when coughing
- Refuses to eat
- Shows signs of dehydration (no tears with crying, no wet diapers for 6 or more hours, or cool dry skin).
Call 911 or take your child to the emergency room if your child has any of the following symptoms:
- Wheezing when exhaling
- Rapid breathing or trouble breathing—their nostrils widen with each breath, the skin around their ribs sucks in with each breath, or their skin, lips or nails turn blue
- A severe headache behind or around the eyes or the back of the neck
- Swelling or redness around the eyes
- Persistent vomiting or
- Signs of dehydration—dry mouth and thirst, few or no tears, or darker or less urine than usual
If you have any questions about your child’s risk or symptoms, contact your pediatrician right away.
