Know the Facts About RSV in Infants and Toddlers


When I was pregnant with my daughter I was pretty nervous and wanted to learn everything I could. I read countless books and drilled my mom and sister on a million questions. I was never really around babies before my daughter was born so I was nervous about knowing the right things to do when she was here.


Every time my daughter got sick as an infant it was just a feeling of helplessness. As a parent you want to just take the sickness away and not see them feel uncomfortable or in pain. I remember one particular time when she was about a year and a half and she had a bad cough that would not go away. We were just about to go to the emergency room because it was the weekend and the doctor's office was closed. Thankfully the cough subsided and the fever went down soon after. Now that I think about it and look at the symptoms she might have had RSV.


The symptoms are:
  • Coughing or wheezing that doesn't stop.
  • Fast or trouble breathing
  • A fever (especially if it is greater than 100.4°F in infants under 3 months of age)
  • A bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
  • Spread-out nostrils and/or a caved-in chest when trying to breathe
  • Gasping for breath
RSV or respiratory syncytial virus is a contagious viral disease that may infect a person's lungs and breathing passages. Preemies are especially susceptible because their preterm lungs are not fully developed. Most babies recover from the disease in a week or two. Premature infants or those with lung or heart problems that have had severe RSV disease can get a serious lung infection and/or require hospitalization


The RSV Prevention website makes it super easy to learn all about RSV and how to prevent it. They tell you what months are the highest risk for RSV in your state, allow you to take an interactive risk assessment for your baby and gives you an easy way to start a dialogue with your Pediatrician.

I learned the best ways you can prevent RSV are to:
  • Wash your hands carefully before touching your baby, and ask others to do the same
  • This one is obvious: no smoking in your home or anywhere near your baby. 
  • Wash your baby's clothes, toys and bedding regularly. 
  • Keep your baby away from areas with crowds, young children and people with colds. 

World Prematurity Day is on November 17 so bringing awareness to RSV is so important so that parents of infants especially preemies know the facts and how to prevent it.

Do you know the symptoms and ways to prevent RSV? 


13 comments

  1. I hadn't heard about RSV until one of my sil's kids had it as an infant. I feel so blessed my kids never did.

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  2. I am lucky not to have had any experience with RSV with either of my children, but I know how serious and possibly deadly it could be. Thanks for being informative!

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  3. I had a nephew that had RSV one time. It was really scare. Thanks for sharing this information.

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  4. This is definitely something that every parent should look into.

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  5. I have not heard of RSV before.. This is something i will share with a friend who is weeks away from delivering.

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  6. Yikes, good to know since I am pregnant with my first.

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  7. When my son was born at 30 weeks I given an appointment at a synergy clinic it was called and he had to get a shot once a month to prevent it. I guess it was cause he was only 3 lbs 10 oz. He's as tall as me now! lol

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  8. My son caught this in the sick room at our ped's office when he was a babyt. It was so scary!

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  9. I'm going to pass this info along to my best friend who is about to have a baby. Thank you!

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  10. RSV is a scary one. My middle one got super sick when he was 3 weeks old, and I was really scared. Thankfully he got over it very quickly. Thanks for this infographic!

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  11. Somehow we escaped this with my kids, but it's horribly, horribly scary!

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  12. i am very lucky neither one of my girls were premies or got RSV.

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  13. RSV scares me so much, I am glad my baby isn't a newborn for the winter season!

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