RSV Symptoms & Awareness

If you have been following me on Facebook you know that my middle child got super sick just after Christmas. When he gets a bad cold he has always been wheezy a little, and it really takes a toll on him, but 4 days after Christmas he just started to get sick. And right away he became super snuggly with me (I don't mind that at all!) By the next morning he was really wheezing and was having difficulty breathing. His shoulders were rising quite a bit with each breath and you could just see it in his face he was struggling. Also Elyse was starting to get sick too. So I called the pediatrician right away. I always get scared having such a young baby during the bad cold and flu season.

Day 1: Pediatrician office

Day 1: Just after being admitted

When we arrived to the office, our doctor asses both Collin and Elyse (Mason already had the crud and was over it. We call him Patient 0). Elyse was showing signs of being sick but wasn't wheezing. Collin on the other hand, we ended up doing 3 breathing treatments in office for Collin to help his breathing. After the 3rd treatment the amount of oxygen he was getting was actually getting worse, they wanted him above 92 and he had dropped down to 87 and we were sent straight into the hospital to get him admitted. Once there he got tested for RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which is a severe respiratory infection.

Day 2

New Years Eve: Day 2

We spent 7 days, doing breathing treatments, keeping him on oxygen, 104 degree fevers, a chest x-ray, 2 blood draws and antibiotics trying to figure out what this was. The main thing was he was sick with a really, really, really bad cold that can lead to pneumonia, and they did find some stuff in his lungs on the x-rays so he was put on antibiotics. But the one thing that was keeping us there the longest was his pulse oxygen levels. He would dip as low as 81 (Again the prime number they wanted was above 92) It was scary. He acted like he was fine most of the time, unless his temperature spiked, which it did a lot! The main thing is when your mommy brain goes off that "my kid isn't right!" GET YOUR KID TO THE DOCTOR! I was going to wait a day before I took Collin but just something in my head said, "NOPE GO NOW!" And we did. It was the first time I had a truly very sick child and I hope we don't have to go through that again.

Day 3

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF RSV:  
Cough
Congestion
Fever
Wheezing
Rapid breathing
Effort To breath
Extreme Fatigue
Change of color to skin due to lack of oxygen

Day 4

Day 5

PREVENT THE SPREAD OF RSV: 
Good hand washing is key to help contain the spreading of germs. But that can be difficult when an older sibling brings them home from school. (Patient 0). If you do have a sick child or sibling try to isolate them from your other kids to avoid the transfer of the sickness. RSV is highly contagious. We were in isolation for 6 of the 7 days we were there.

Day 6

Day 7

8pm on day 7- Collin is getting discharged! 

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