Almost 6 Month Old w/RSV.....

KEEP THE BABY HOME!!! :) You are correct in thinking that he needs to get well, and that RSV is horribly contagious. Ditto on the post below about all the signs and how dangerous it can be. Hang in there!

Cari,
My daughter (now 2.5) has RSV at 6 months. She was a premie. She was in the hospital for 8 days. Not all children have to be hospitalized though. Here are some signs that you need to take your son to the Pediatricians office or ER immediatly....
-Labored or fast breathing...more than 60 respirations per minuted when not crying.
-Look under his shirt, when he inhales, if he is pulling air so hard that his ribs are showing.
-Look at his neck........there is a little diamond area that sometimes "pulls in" when a child has labored breathing.
-Also...if he is grunting when breathing....(you will know what i am talking about if you hear it)
Wheezing is totally normal....it sounds terrible, but is not a reason for worry...watch his respirations and check for laboring.......
now that part is over(you know the freaky stuff)
FORGET about work...RSV is HIGHLY contagious!!! You can not take him to work. You do not want to pass this along to anyone else....especially around the holidays.
This is a time when lots of people will be seeing their extended family. RSV is something that seems like a pesky cold for anyone over the age of 2-3 but can be dangerous for infants. You could pass this to someone at work that could pass to another "high risk" infant that could cause a hospital stay for weeks or longer.
How to make your son more comfortable......
-watch his temp.....of course over 103 contact the pedi
He is going to run a fever. As long as he is not terribly uncomfortable, do not give him tylenol. The fever is fighting the virus.
-buy the over the counter saline solution for babies and a bulb syringe. Squirt a few drops in his nose and suction. He will make you feel like you are torturing him, but this is a must. The main symptom of RSV is an over abundance of mucus. Your son can not yet blow his own nose....essentially, you will have to "blow his nose" for him. You will see after suctioning his nose, his wheezing and coughing will get better temporarily.
-Put a pillow under his mattress in his crib, or let him sleep in his car seat. Sleeping in a semi-upright position will give him a bit or relief from the stuffy nose..."stuffy nose" what an understatement. Anyway....
The nurse at the hospital told me this....and it was soooo true.....
It gets worse before it gets better. And it does.......don't be suprised or beaten down by it....This too shall pass. It is now just a vague memory for me....it will be for you one day too.
Lastly.....the residual effects of RSV are brochiolitus (sp?) and pneumonia(sp?.) Your Pedi should be conducting check ups every other day or so until his chest is clear....Don't be suprised if he will need to take xopenex by the nebulizer.
Lastly.......if this lasts more than 7 days and your doctor does not get you in contact with a Pediactric Pulmonolgist....you get yourself in contact with one.
I reccomend Dr Silver in Plano. He was a miracle doc when my daughter had RSV.

Hi Cari,

My baby had RSV when she was only 6 weeks. The doctor would not give her any medicine since she was so young. Her cough was horrible and her nose just drained all the time. We really stayed indoors with her, especially with the weather like it is. My doctor recommend that we let her sleep in her carseat so that she could breathe better.
For two weeks she slept in her carseat and I constantly sucked her nose out. She got over it and was fine.
Hope this helps.

we spent a loooooonnnngggggg weekend getting my youngest over this when he was 2 mnths old. it took 2 weeks to get the diagnosis, but once we did, it was treatments every 4 hours and lots of TLC. we didn't sleep much that Valentine's weekend and only took an hour off for romance. LOL but in the end it was worth it because we kept him out of the hospital and got him healthy very quickly. we'll never forget it, that's for sure. keep your sanity, it will help!

my daughter had rsv at 12 months, its very very contagious to infants! shortly after she started her rsv bout i ended up with bronchitis. we both were on breathing treatments - i was 5 months pregnant! i would keep him inside and as comfortable as possible at the beginning stages so he can fight it easier. my daughter had rsv for 5 weeks!

Defintely NOT tkae your baby anywhere. My son youngest had it at 8 months on his 1st Christmas. I took him in the ER on the 24th and was there til 4am. He had 105 temp and dad wanted to take him and I would not let him leave the house. (me and dad were in the process of a divorce) and then I had to take him again to the ER Christmas evening on the 25th. He was dehydrating. A humidifyer seemed to help. It's hard for some people to understand when they don't have kids. I hope you this helps. Your baby needs you now and your cuddles.
M.

Comments by others here are very good. These are in addition to what has already been said.

When my grandson was 6 months old he also had RSV. My daughter was sick with a flu and I took care of him. I learned several important things. RSV IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS. And not just to other children. For an adult it is a sinus infection. I contracted it and for at least five years afterwards I battled sinus infections. My grandson had contracted this from his baby sitter who had symptoms of a sinus infection and when asked to be tested for RSV finally consented and tested positive. She was caring for four other young children at the time.

Many infants (under age of one) die from this every year, so this is serious.

I hope your baby has a successful recovery, as my grandson did. My grandson was admitted to the hospital for approximately a week.

D. H.

In addition to the other wonderful responses, try Vick's baby rub on his feet and then put his socks on. Maybe will help with your son getting a bit of rest.

It helps stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughs will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly.

It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly.

Good luck!

My daughter had rsv when she was about 8 weeks old. I had her sleep in the car seat right next to me so I could watch her. And I was sooo scared that every few hours throughout the night I would just sit in the bathroom with the shower running (hot water) to let the steam help her breathe better. That helped a lot!

Hi Cari,

Sorry to hear about your baby. I work in the medical field and RSV is very serious. Below I have left info you should read and ask your doctor questions if necessary.

http://www.synagis.com/hcp/sub/potential-candidates.aspx

I would say def. DO NOT take him to work he needs to be at home where he is most comfy & you can pay very close attention to him & help him feel better. when my nephew had RSV he wanted to be held constantly & just laid there weezing, I think he was 11 months when he got it. He was really sick but didn't have to be hospitalized. It was so sad & scary. You don't want to keep the spread going. & older people can carry it & it not really effect them so you don't want the people at work to get it & then somehow give it to you & then he get it again.

My twins were a full year old when they got RSV. At six months, it is pretty scary. RSV must be monitored closely, so if that's something you can do at work....then it's ok I guess. But the baby is very contagious and should not be around other children. Yes it is possible that your other baby has RSV; it's a virus; it just may not be as severe for an older child.

Perhaps you should call your pediatrician and discuss your boss' request, then do whatever is suggested by your pediatrician.

see if you can work from home...