How to Protect Little Lungs: RSV Awareness Month

This post was sponsored as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

The photos I'm sharing with you in this post show my babes happy and healthy and enjoying being outside in the fall. But this time last year, one of the worst seasons of sickness I've ever experienced began for my family. In addition to Emmett dealing with a compromised immune system as a result of the epilepsy medication he was required to take at the time, it was Essley's first year of preschool, and the first time she was exposed to an excess of germs on a regular basis. Between cases of Croup, Influenza, stomach viruses, and other issues, our kids were in the emergency room three separate times in a two and a half month period. It was scary and intense to see our children sick to the point of having to take them to the hospital in the middle of the night. I never want to repeat that again.

During that time of frequent doctor and hospital visits, we were told by our pediatrician and the doctors we saw in the hospital about another illness we needed to keep on our radar, especially for Emmett since he was an infant - RSV, or Respiratory Syncytial Virus. We were told that RSV is a common virus that is highly contagious, most often occurs between November and March, and almost always affects babies up to age two. We were also told that there is no treatment for RSV, and that we needed do our best to prevent it. During this time, two of our friends' babies ended up contracting RSV. It was heartbreaking to see them (both the children and their parents) experience such an awful illness.

With virus season approaching, we are once again taking precautions to try to prevent Emmett from contracting RSV. And I want to help educate others about it so that they can do the same for their babes. This month also happens to be National RSV Awareness Month, so I thought it was the perfect time to share some of what we've learned about RSV. (And please spread the word and share the below infographic with friends and loved ones as well!)

The first step in educating ourselves about RSV is to know what signs and symptoms to look for. While RSV presents symptoms of just a cold or flu in many babies, in babies that were born earlier than 35 weeks of gestation, it can turn into a very serious infection. Some of the symptoms to watch for include difficulty breathing and/or gasping for breath, coughing or wheezing that doesn't stop, unusual lethargy or fatigue, a bluish color of the mouth or fingernails, and/or a fever of 100.4 or greater.

Once aware of the symptoms of RSV, we need to take steps to prevent it. As I mentioned above, there are no current treatment options available, so prevention is key. One thing that we always do at the advice of our pediatrician is to make sure every person in the family (and those who come over to visit or will be in contact with our children) wash hands upon entering the home. Another preventive measure you can take is to keep your house as clean as possible and frequently wash/sanitize surfaces, children's toy, blankets, etc. Also make sure to keep young children away from others who are sick and large crowds during this time of year. And finally, talk to your pediatrician and see if you child could be at high risk for severe RSV disease.

For more information on on RSV and how to keep your babes' little lungs healthy, visit the Little Lungs website. Here's to a fall and winter full of healthy babies and families enjoying the season!