I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for MedImmune. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
November 17th is World Prematurity Day which hits close to home for us because my first born was born premature at 34 weeks. He was born with a life threatening birth defect called Tracheosophageal Fistula/ Esophageal Atresia, which required surgery when he was four days old and a month long NICU stay.
When we were finally able to bring him home I had newer scares that I had to deal with. He was brought home on a heart monitor and we weren’t allowed to have visitors until he was over 5 months. RSV season is usually in full force in the fall months and continues through spring which was when we brought him home. Did you know that preemies are more susceptible to getting RSV? Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common, easily spread virus that almost all children catch at least once by the time they turn 2. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in babies their first year and over 200 infant deaths every year. Scary isn’t it?
Our son ended up getting RSV, but thank goodness he was a little older and it wasn’t when we first brought him home or it would have been a lot worse. He was 8 months when he had RSV, which required breathing treatments and a hospital stay. Seeing him in the hospital again just brought back the same memories as when he was first born and in the NICU. Nothing is worse than seeing your child struggling to breath, hooked up to monitors, and feeling helpless.
We had our second child two years later and after going through what I went through with our son I know what to look for when it comes RSV. Early diagnosis is so important here are some symptoms to look for.
Signs of severe RSV Disease:
– Persistent coughing or wheezing
– Bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
– Rapid, difficult, or gasping breaths
– Fever (especially if it is over 100.4°F [rectal] in infants under 3 months of age)
I gave birth to our second child during RSV season so I was prepared with what I learned from what we went through with our son to help prevent RSV with our daughter.
How can you help protect your baby from RSV? Although, there is no treatment for RSV you can help minimize the spread of RSV. Ways to prevent RSV include:
– Wash their hands and ask others to do the same
– Keep toys, clothes, blankets, and sheets clean
– Avoid crowds and other young children during RSV season
– Never let anyone smoke around your baby
– Stay away from people who are sick or have recently been sick
You can learn more about RSV by visiting www.RSVprotection.com for more information
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