Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common virus that leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in adults and older healthy children. It can be more serious in young babies, especially to those in certain high-risk groups.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infects almost all children at least once before they are 2 years old. Most of the time this virus only causes minor cold-like symptoms. However, for some babies infection can be more dangerous.
For certain infants who are extremely preterm (infants born before 32 weeks of pregnancy) or who are born with severe heart disease or severe lung disease, RSV infection can be especially serious. Preterm infants often have underdeveloped lungs and may have difficulty fighting an RSV infection once they become infected.
How to Protect your baby
There are important steps you can take to prevent exposure to RSV and other viruses, especially in the first few months of your child’s life. These precautionary measures include
- Make sure everyone washes their hands before touching your baby.
- Keep your baby away from anyone who has a cold, fever, or runny nose.
- Keep your baby away from crowded areas like shopping malls.
- Keep your baby away from tobacco smoke. Parents should not expose their infants and young children to secondhand tobacco smoke, which increases the risk of and complications from severe viral respiratory infections.
- For high-risk infants, participation in child care should be restricted during RSV season whenever possible.
All high-risk infants and their contacts should be immunized against influenza beginning at 6 months of age.
Symptoms
Symptoms vary and differ with age. They usually appear 4 – 6 days after coming in contact with the virus. Older children usually have only mild, cold-like symptoms, such as cough, stuffy nose, or low-grade fever. Infants under age 1 may have more severe symptoms and often have the most trouble breathing.
RSV symptoms include:
- Bluish skin color due to a lack of oxygen (cyanosis)
- Breathing difficulty or labored breathing
- Cough
- Croupy cough (often described as a “seal bark” cough)
- Fever
- Nasal flaring
- Rapid breathing (tachypnea)
- Shortness of breath
- Stuffy nose
- Wheezing
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