Newborn Exposed to RSV

My 8 month old daughter had RSV along with pneumonia in Dec. at about 6 1/2 months old. She had not been around anyone who had it to get the virus and none of us including my 2 year old son was infected with the virus from her. We all sleep in the same bed, we are always very close to one another and big brother is always giving his little sister kisses and hugs. I was not told by the doctor to disinfect anything and i didn't, we were in the process of moving anyway.

I just done a quick google search and is says the virus does not survive in the environment, can be spread by cups and utensils, so the baby is safe there. If your 14 month old touched any of the babies toys or blankets, etc. i would probably wash them. The site also said the virus can be contracted from droplets of a sneeze.

Hope this helps and hope your baby feels better soon!

RSV is a virus and the symptoms are just like the common cold. If your baby develops cold-like symptoms, rapid, shallow breathing, then call your pediatrician immediately. They can do a culture swab and determine if it is RSV. My 33 month old was in the pediatric intensive care unit for four days 3 weeks ago with RSV. Do not panic!! Just keep an eye on your baby for cold symptoms like runny nose and fever. If you are Nervous, call your pediatrician. Good luck.

many babies in our town have it right now, several admitted. my 3 1/2mo old is in daycare & in a room with toddlers. i make sure to wash his hands (with soap) at least a couple times a day (likes to eat his hands) & wash his face to ward off germs from adults/kids touching him a lot & chewing on toys. i disinfect his toys/binkies & toss in the laundry is outfit and blankets at end of day. especially if he's been at daycare - i also ask his provider to help with washing his hands a couple times during the day. make sure all adults & kids practice hand washing as well. don't forget to disinfect all door handles in home, fridge door, and drawer & cupboard handles as well.

Hi M.,
It is very responsible of you to be concerned for your niece. It's amazing the parents who just don't care about anybody else's children! Just so you know, I'm a nurse, specializing in ER and neonatal nursing. Since RSV is viral, antibiotics do not help and the only treatment is fever control, keeping their noses and throats clear of that yucky mucous and keeping them hydrated. First I want to tell you there are a few different types of RSV. One acts like the common cold but just seems worse in a baby because they can't clear their own noses and lungs and throats. The other is a type of RSV that is the dangerous kind and will send infants to the hospital. There is no way to know which is which unless tested and watching and waiting to see what happens. Studies are still ongoing for the creation of tests to determine exactly what type of RSV a child has. By the age of 2 years, a child will not be diagnosed with RSV any longer, but just the common cold or flu symptoms. RSV of any type is highly contagious, as is a cold (boy, do we all know that!). Of course the #1 thing is handwashing and then disinfecting anything that babies touch and anything that goes in their mouths....which is just about everything! As far as your niece goes, the symptoms to look for are any cold/flu symptoms, any difficulty breathing, flaring of the nostrils when breathing, ribs pulling in when breathing, color changes, decreased appetite, fevers, junky coughs. They don't really need to be seen by a physician unless the fever is uncontrollable by Tylenol and lukewarm baths, if they truly are having the nasal flaring and pulling in at the ribs with breathing, or if they start to look blue. And certainly anytime they stop breathing or become lethargic and listless either call 911 or head for your nearest emergency room. I guarantee you there is no way to stop kids from being exposed or getting RSV or colds, so don't blame yourself for the exposure. If it wasn't your child who exposed her, it would have been someone else! But I do applaud your concern. Take care, and BTW, be sure to do your best to keep everyone out of your baby's face for a while until he/she is all better. Like I said, it's nearly futile, but it does pay to be responsible about it anyway. God bless.

Hi M.,
My little girl got RSV from a caregiver when she was 6 weeks old. It was really scary and horrible, and the fourth day was the worst because she could barely breathe, but she got through it. But what was worse is that the caregiver knew she was ill and did not tell us before coming to work. You are caring and concerned and trying to do the right thing. If the baby had a lot of exposure to all of you there is not a lot you can do except hope the baby somehow did not get it, and YES DISINFECT like crazy. The thing is, adults can carry RSV and only have a slight cold. So, just make sure that if the baby starts having ANY symptoms, get to the doc right away!! The incubation period is 7-14 days.
J

My 3 month old got RSV when she was just 7 weeks old. The dr. said 90% of all babies will have it before they're 2. Most often it looks just like a cold. Hopefully if your 14 mo-old gets sick it'll be mild, but I don't know of any way to totally prevent it. Good luck!

Most children handle RSV with out any problem. Children that were born premature or have other health issues may be more at risk. The best thing for the baby is to be breast fed. As far as cleaning the house tell your brother to open up the windows and try to get as much natural light as possible into the house. UV light kills most germs and exchanging the air with fresh helps a lot.

This is also a good trick for shopping carts. The ones sitting in the sun in the parking lot have fewer live germs than the ones being picked through in the store.

RSV is very contagious and unfortunatly it is contagious about 7-10 days BEFORE the child shows any signs of having it. I run an in home daycare and my 13 month old has had RSV twice. The doctor said that every child will have been exposed to RSV by the time they are 2. It is that common. I wouldn't worry about it too much as there isn't anything you can do after the fact. Like the other post said, if your little one was touching any of the baby's toys or blankets then they need a good wash, but it may be too late. Is the baby breast fed? Breast fed infants have a great immunity to getting sick and the baby may not even end up getting it. My son didn't catch anything until he was about 8 months old when his immune system starts working on it's own. Good Luck.

If I remember correctly from when my now five year old was sick with RSV at 1 month the virus stay live on body and clothing for 7 days and can be passed and there is not much to do about that. My son was very sick and almost died, he spent 10 days(normal is 4) in the hospital, he had some chest congestion and when we took our older son to the doctor we figured as long as we were there we might as well have him checked too. They called an ambulance for him and started treating him before they had even looked at my older boy who was fine. My advice would be to tell the parents of the baby that if they here any congestion or rattling in the babies chest to take her/him straight to the doctors and tell them that there had been exposure to RSV. With a baby it's always better to be safe. Good Luck! Extra note-I had a healthy full term baby.