Jul two, 2018

Dr. Gellner: What is RSV and how tin I protect my babe? That'southward today'south topic. I'm Dr. Cindy Gellner for The Scope.

Journalist: Go on your kids healthy and happy. You are now entering "The Healthy Kids Zone" with Dr. Cindy Gellner on The Telescopic.

What Is RSV?

Dr. Gellner: Then RSV is a common virus that usually affects the olfactory organ, throat, and lungs. RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus. And, ordinarily, for kids over the historic period of 2 and adults, it'southward just like a bad cold. But for those nether two years old, and especially preemie babies, this can be very severe.

Symptoms of RSV are usually cold symptoms: cough, runny nose. The difference is the runny nose is going to be significantly mucusy, copious amounts of fungus. You can get some redness of the eyes, cough, sore, scratchy pharynx. In kids nether the age of 2, especially premature babies, nosotros worry about something called bronchiolitis.

Bronchiolitis

So in bronchiolitis, the virus attacks the small airways of the lungs, and information technology can cause cough, wheezing, fast breathing, and trouble breathing where they are doing what's called retractions. They're animate so hard that you tin can really see them sucking in air, and you can see indentations underneath their rib cage and in between their ribs, where they're really just trying to suck in as much air as possible.

When your pediatrician listens to your infant's lungs, if they have RSV and bronchiolitis, it really sounds like Rice Krispies in the lungs; it'south just all crackly. Quite often, pediatricians are able to get a good thought if your kid has RSV or not just based on the symptoms. Days three through five of an RSV disease are the worst; that's when they're the nigh symptomatic and again we tin commonly hear the crackles in the lungs. We tin often accept samples of mucus from the nose and test it for the virus to see if it is RSV and then we know how to exist a little fleck more aggressive with treating the viral affliction your baby has, if information technology is positive.

RSV Treatment

Because RSV is a virus, and non a bacteria, antibiotics, unfortunately, volition non help treat RSV. Babies nether the age of one quite often will need some actress oxygen and fifty-fifty may be treated in the hospital if their bronchiolitis is and then bad that their oxygen level is nether ninety percent, and your doctor will be checking your baby's oxygen if y'all bring them in for these symptoms. And ofttimes if they are hospitalized, they are sent home with oxygen, and then in the function we can assist you wean your infant off of the oxygen. RSV illnesses are usually lasting vii to 21 days, but once again, it'southward worst in the first iii to five days.

And so if there'southward no real skilful medicine to treat RSV, how do I assist my child? Well, there are some cases when we do demand to give some medicine. If y'all have a family history of asthma or your child has had a history of wheezing in the past, earlier getting RSV, and we hear wheezes going along with those crackles, we might them a treatment of a breathing treatment called albuterol. Albuterol is also the medication that's in the fast-interim inhalers for asthma patients. If your child does well with them, with the albuterol, then we can sometimes go a breathing handling auto sent home with yous and the medication for yous.

The most important thing that's going to help your child is sucking out their nose, and we all know how much they dear that. Unfortunately sucking out the nose is going to exist the best thing for them. You're going to need to employ nasal saline before you suction out the fungus. Nasal saline will actually aid loosen upward thick mucus and then you lot tin can become it out easier, and and then your kid will be able to breathe more than easily. Sometimes, your physician will be able to give you a prescription to the respiratory outpatient dispensary here in Salt Lake City. You tin take your babe to the clinics and they are run past respiratory therapists and they are able to exercise deep suctioning. And so they will stick a tube mode downwards in your infant's olfactory organ and really suction everything out. It'southward kind of like Roto Rooter for your baby'south nose. But it actually helps go the mucus out.

And those prescriptions are ordinarily good for seven days, and the clinics are open up 24 hours a twenty-four hours. They're really adept nearly sending your dr. a note through the fax or through the computer to let them know you took your child there and what happened. Did the suctioning assist? Did they need a breathing treatment? Did they need oxygen? Did they need to get admitted?

RSV Prevention

Then how can you lot help prevent your child from getting RSV? 1 affair yous can practice is make sure that people launder their hands and sanitize before holding your child and attempt to keep your baby away from people who have cold symptoms.

Different certain other viruses that we accept vaccines for, at that place is no vaccine that tin can preclude RSV. Nevertheless, babies who are born very prematurely--normally before 30 weeks of the pregnancy--or babies who have sure types of heart disease or chronic lung disease, may exist able to exist treated with a drug called Synagis. Now Synagis is a kind of antibody which can assistance forestall astringent RSV infections. We used to think that information technology would actually prevent your kid from getting it, flow.

Now nosotros now that it will help your baby's immune system to fight off RSV if the baby gets it and prevent hospitalization and shorten the length of illness. Your doctor volition permit yous know if your infant qualifies for Synagis. It'south a very expensive medication and only sure babies authorize through their insurance, but those babies who do qualify, we make certain that they get the medicine that they need.

And y'all're going to need to go along saline and the bulb sucker and a cool mist humidifier handy to aid get the fungus out of your baby's nose if they go RSV. And if you retrieve your baby has RSV, please take them seen past your pediatrician within the commencement few days that they are ill so we tin help y'all take care of them.

Announcer: Accept a question about a medical procedure? Desire to learn more about a health status? With over two,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, there's a pretty good chance yous'll discover what you want to know. Check it out at TheScopeRadio.com.


updated: July 2, 2018
originally published: December 1, 2014

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