Parenting
Uh Oh...RSV?
I'm jumping the gun a bit but apparently it's possible that DD's 13 mo old cousin has RSV (test results pending). They had some contact playing together for a few hours this past weekend. DD started having cold-like symptoms today. I'm going to keep a close eye on her knowing how contagious it is but I just wanted to see if anyone has had experience with this in an older child. DD is almost 5.
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Re: Uh Oh...RSV?
RSV is rarely dangerous in older kids and adults. It's most dangerous for infants and the elderly.
DD had it at 6 weeks old. DS was 2 and picked it up at her one month well baby visit and shared. He didn't have much more than a ghastly cold, I had a cold and DH didn't get anything. DD and my 74 year old mom just about coughed their lungs out and took 3-4 weeks to get better. To this day DD coughs HARD even when it's nothing, because of the sense memory of having to clear her lungs at such a young age.
DS - December 2006
DD - December 2008
If your DD is 5, she's probably already had RSV. RSV is often mistaken for a common cold. It is usually only dangerous in really young kids.
My twins had it last March. They were both horrible - neb every 4 hrs for each of them. My older two were 3 and almost 5 and neither had more than a cough, the oldest didn't miss any school, either.
She should be fine, it may just seem like a cold.
RSV can be really bad or it can be a cold. My girls had it when they were almost 2.5 and 5 months. The 2 year old ended up very sick, had recurrences frequently and ended up hospitalized three months after the initial virus and diagnosed with asthma secondary to RSV. The infant had a runny nose and nothing more. Had only the baby shown symptoms I would have assumed it was a cold and not known it was RSV, but she was with her sister at a follow up appointment and the NP swabbed her too and it was positive. She never had a fever, never wheezed and never had another symptom beyond a runny nose.
Thank you ladies, this makes me feel better. I'm sorry some of you had a bad time of it, sounds nasty.
I will keep my eye on her and hopefully it'll just run it's course like a normal cold...IF that's what it is.
DD had RSV at 20 months and was very sick for a week although not hospitalized. DS #2 had it at 3 weeks and was hospitalized for 12 days. It was awful! It hits some kids under 2 really hard. At age 5 your DD has probably had it (not that she can't get it again) but it won't be more than a cold.
From the RSV info center:
What is RSV?
RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus, the most frequent cause of serious respiratory tract infections in infants and children younger than 4 years of age. This is such a common virus that virtually all children have been infected by RSV by the age of 3. In most young children, it results in a mild respiratory infection that is not distinguishable from a common cold.