We’re definitely in the midst of germ season. It seems like everyone I talk to mentions being sick, their kids being sick, or just getting over a sickness of some kind. We’ve lucked out here and have only gotten sick once this winter, but families with babies and young children tend to be less lucky. It’s so easy for kids to bring home germs from daycare or school and pass them around to everyone at home. When I babysit in the winter, I try to work in at least a few extra hand washes during the day to help keep the germs away.
Illnesses can be particularly scary when babies get them. RSV, for example, is really scary especially for very young and/or premature babies. My first experience with RSV was when my niece got it at about 8 months old. I remember going to visit her at the hospital and she was in one of those hospital “cribs” that look like cold, scary cages. The color was drained from her skin and she just looked so tired and well, sick. Thankfully she wasn’t a newborn and wasn’t a preemie, so the disease wasn’t quite as scary for her as it is for other babies, but it was still awful to see her locked away in her baby cage while looking so sick. RSV is highly contagious and 2/3ds of babies contract it before their first birthday, and 100% of babies get it before age 2. The virus that causes RSV can live on surfaces like toys, doorknobs and high chairs for several hours. Therefore, it’s no wonder that RSV spreads easily in day cares and preschools. Sometimes, RSV remains as a basic cough, but it can turn into a serious infection that requires hospitalization (like my niece experienced) or even death. Up to 500 babies a year die from RSV. The best way to prevent RSV is to wash hands and to keep surfaces in your home, daycare and preschool cleaned regularly.
If you have babies or young children around you, reading about RSV can help you take steps to keep them healthy. Check out the infographic below or the RSV Protection site to learn more about RSV.
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation
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Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 4 responses.
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One of my sister’s children had RSV once. Thankfully, they were okay, but it was really scary.
Dawn
This is great info to get out there, thanks for sharing. I can only imagine how scary that was with your niece in the hospital. There is no worse feeling than being helpless when your baby is sick!