LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There is a record number of patients with RSV at Norton Children's Hospital right now. So much so, they are limiting visitors to help decrease the spread of RSV.
The increase shows just how easily the respiratory syntactical virus can spread. It can live on surfaces for quite some time so covering your cough and sneezing into your sleeve are crucial.
"Especially kids in daycare around other kids they are not really good about washing their hands or covering their coughs so it gets passed around very easily," Anna Czartorski, a nurse practitioner with Norton Healthcare, said.
The signs of a respiratory virus often mirror that of the common cold, so it can be hard to tell the difference between the two. Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, and a runny nose. You can also have a fever and experience wheezing. However, unlike an ordinary case of the sniffles, RSV can cause much more damage.
"For the baby or kids under one that can turn into a life-threatening illness. When they get RSV it can turn into something called bronchiolitis which is an inflammation in their upper airways and it can even cause pneumonia," Czartorski said.
This is why it's even more important to be extra cautious this season because some adults don't realize they are carrying the virus.
"That's why we say don't kiss babies in the wintertime because you might just have a little bit of a sniffle in your nose, but it could be RSV and when you kiss the baby you could pass the RSV to the child," Czartorski said.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that there are medications for a virus like RSV but there aren't. All you can do is treat it like a common cold: Drink a lot of fluids, wash your hands, and rest. If you think your child might have RSV, and it's been five days, don't hesitate and bring them to a doctor.
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