Can Someone Enlighten Me About RSV?

[cheerfuldom]

long story short, a daycare kid of mine has been sick for weeks and sent home several times and kept home several times. i kept telling the parents to get kid checked out (especially after another kid turned up with the flu). parents finally did and 2 year old has RSV. doctor said one week home to recover. does this sound right?

PS mom is frantic to find someone willing to do sick care for kiddo but of course, no one will, i know i certainly wont. she is trying to get someone to come to the house but who would randomly be wanting a one week job with a sick kid?

[Blackcat31]

Here are my handy sheets about infectious diseases

Technical fact sheet:

http://www.hennepin.us/files/HennepinUS/HSPHD/Public%20Health%20Protection/Epidemiology/Daycare%20Manual/1565_S6RESPIRATORY%20SYNCYTIAL%20VIRUS%20_rsv_.pdf

Parent sheet:

http://www.hennepin.us/files/HennepinUS/HSPHD/Public%20Health%20Protection/Epidemiology/Daycare%20Manual/1570_RSV%20parent.pdf

HTH

[canadiancare]

Here we have a company that does in home short term emergency child care. I think it is about 10$ an hour, though so you really need to be desperate.


RSV is a pretty major virus in little ones and, often requires hospitalisation with anti-viral meds.

Both kids I have had in my years have been the kind of kid who then end up with every cold going right to their lungs.

It is nothing to take lightly and the mum is lucky he is home.

[Willow]

I think the one week timeline is weird. Kiddos all respond to RSV so differently it's hard telling if this 2 year old will need a few days or a few weeks to recover completely.

The scary thing is it can knock little ones out so hard and so fast....I would make sure that kiddo is actually well again before just having them return after a weeks time. Hopefully it will be enough time, but it may not be by a long shot either so both you and parents should be prepared for the possibility.

BC's information is great btw.

[Crazy In Mo]

I have had 3 seperate rsv cases in DC this year. They were all better within a week. But I have read about cases that take closer to 2 weeks to heal.

[Unregistered]

I'm a pediatric ED nurse, this sounds very realistic to me. RSV is really only dangerous in infants. A 2 year old who develops RSV has the immune system to be able to fight off the infection with antibiotics. The week off is really only for the child to be symptom free and complete the course of antibiotics. RSV is very comparable to the common cold in an adult.

[SilverSabre25]

I'm a pediatric ED nurse, this sounds very realistic to me. RSV is really only dangerous in infants. A 2 year old who develops RSV has the immune system to be able to fight off the infection with antibiotics. The week off is really only for the child to be symptom free and complete the course of antibiotics. RSV is very comparable to the common cold in an adult.

Um...I'm not a doctor...but...rSV is a virus. it doesn't need antibiotics. Antibitoics will do absolutely NOTHING. No child better be given antibiotics for a viral infection. That has the word "virus" IN IT"S NAME. :confused:

[canadiancare]

Um...I'm not a doctor...but...rSV is a virus. it doesn't need antibiotics. Antibitoics will do absolutely NOTHING. No child better be given antibiotics for a viral infection. That has the word "virus" IN IT"S NAME. :confused:

He may have been given an anti-viral prescription and someone just said anti-biotic by accident. Anti-viral scripts are fairly common for illnesses such as shingles and RSV. If you get them going quickly enough you won't stop the illness but you may get some control over the severity.

EDIT to add that I disagree that it is like a common cold for adults.

[Willow]

Um...I'm not a doctor...but...rSV is a virus. it doesn't need antibiotics. Antibitoics will do absolutely NOTHING. No child better be given antibiotics for a viral infection. That has the word "virus" IN IT"S NAME. :confused:

You are correct.

Treatment is limited to supportive care. You can do your best to help alleviate some of associated the symptoms, but the virus itself simply has to run it's course.

It's also not *only* dangerous to infants. Anyone immuno-compromised of any age up to an including the elderly are particularly susceptible.

[Willow]

He may have been given an anti-viral prescription and someone just said anti-biotic by accident. Anti-viral scripts are fairly common for illnesses such as shingles and RSV. If you get them going quickly enough you won't stop the illness but you may get some control over the severity.

EDIT to add that I disagree that it is like a common cold for adults.

I've always heard and read (I had a lot of premie fosters that were given the rsv course of vaccines so I did a lot of research on this one) that anti-virals (ribivirin?) have no actual effect or benefit.

[canadiancare]

I've always heard and read (I had a lot of premie fosters that were given the rsv course of vaccines so I did a lot of research on this one) that anti-virals (ribivirin?) have no actual effect or benefit.

I have only had 2 kids with it (one prior to coming here and one while she was here) and they both ended up in the hospital with it and received AV treatment. I am not a healthcare professional, though I only play one on the Internet

[kathiemarie]

Here are my handy sheets about infectious diseases

Technical fact sheet:

http://www.hennepin.us/files/HennepinUS/HSPHD/Public%20Health%20Protection/Epidemiology/Daycare%20Manual/1565_S6RESPIRATORY%20SYNCYTIAL%20VIRUS%20_rsv_.pdf

Parent sheet:

http://www.hennepin.us/files/HennepinUS/HSPHD/Public%20Health%20Protection/Epidemiology/Daycare%20Manual/1570_RSV%20parent.pdf

HTH

Thanks for posting this. I just had a DCM call me today telling me her son had RSV. I will be passing this out at pick up.

[Nickel]

Im actually really surprised at the one week recovery. My daughter had it and was on n nebulizer treatments for two mnths every 4 hrs round the clock. then it took 2 more mnths to taper off the neb treatments. Rsv can be very serious. I would wait it out.