“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.”
As a parent, I do everything in my absolute power to protect my child from everything. Whether it’s falling, bumping her head, or getting sick, there’s nothing I dislike more than when my baby isn’t feeling well, no matter if it’s for 3 minutes or 3 days. And I know I’m not alone. Every parent I know would go to the end of the world fighting for their children as well. One of the most trying times, is always the fall and winter months.
It’s during these months that most illnesses happen and sometimes despite our best efforts as parents to make certain that nothing happens to our children, it still happens. Viruses can often spread rapidly through both schools and daycares and then kids bring those germs home to other siblings and parents. It’s a vicious cycle sometimes.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is one of the most discussed viruses out there. I couldn’t believe it when I learned that almost 100% of children under two will actually contract RSV; however, not all children have to seek medical attention. It usually has mild to moderate cold-like symptoms, but it is highly contagious. RSV is spread by coughing and sneezing, lives on surfaces, hands, and even your clothing, and it potentially very serious for babies, especially premature infants. The sad reality is that even though there are over 125,000 hospitalizations for RSV in the United States, many parents don’t know the signs of the virus.
November 17th is World Prematurity Day and with that we want to tell you the four signs to look for when dealing with RSV:
- Persistent coughing or wheezing
- Bluish color around mouth or fingernails
- Rapid, Difficult, or gasping breaths
- Fever (especially over 100.4 F in infant under 3 months)
It’s extremely important, especially if you have a small child that you are aware of the signs and symptoms of RSV. It’s even more important if you have a premature child. One of my nieces was premature by a few weeks and even though she didn’t have any extreme medical procedures from arriving early, it was still very important that we kept her safe and protected. Some of the things we did was to make sure we kept our hands washed well and used hand sanitizer when needed, kept surfaces clean, especially bathrooms, and made sure that no one that smoked came near her for a few weeks. These are just a few things that you can do to also help protect your children.
I know that even though Skibbles wasn’t premature, I still did very similar things to make sure that we were cautious and tried to keep germs away. She was born in November, so right in the middle of the season for RSV. We also made sure that we didn’t allow anyone over that was experiencing cold like symptoms either.
There are so many things you can do to protect your children, learn more at RSVProection.com
We're Parents is a unique mom and dad natural parenting blog focusing on topics such as breastfeeding, babywearing, and car seat safety. You'll also find Delicious recipes, inspired travel recommendations, and more as you journey with us through parenting. 
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