RSV/upper respiratory infection in an infant- when to worry?
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Anonymous
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Our two toddlers, DH and I were all very sick last week with a nasty upper respiratory infection. I have a six week old and am terrified of RSV. She seemed to escape it until today, she's congested. None of us ever had fevers but bad cough and lots of mucus. It may have been RSV or just something else.
We live in a weird area (not DC) and our local hospital is going though a lot of issues, wait times are about 10 hours on average. Good friends are ER docs there and basically said don't go for any reason. Closest childrens hospital is between 1.5-3 hours away depending. People commonly take a helicopter to the hospital if they need to, it's that kind of situation. I know RSV can turn bad fast, I guess I'm wondering what I should be on the lookout for since getting to a hospital is challenging for us. If no fever and she's eating are we ok? |
Anonymous
| Difficulty breathing. There are a few posts in health forum right now |
Anonymous
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Look up videos of retractions, so you know what you're looking for. My now 2yo had RSV over a year ago, and we were sent to the ER when she started exhibiting labored breathing: rapid respiration rate, retractions, etc. She also ended up getting dehydrated, despite our best efforts.
It could be that the rest of you just had a run of the mill cold, and that's what she has, too. I know it is scary at that age, though. |
Anonymous
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Is your pediatrician local? They should be able to do a quick RSV test. We had a similar situation 2 weeks with older child sick then passing to 4 month old. Luckily RSV was negative but the doctor had me bring her every other day to monitor for pneumonia and we gave her a nebulizer at home.
In the meantime I’d recommend steaming the bathroom and bringing baby in to clear her out (as long as she doesn’t have a fever). |
Anonymous
| Pediatrician as a first stop asap. Our three month old had bronchiolitis in August (caught it from older sisters), and, in addition to our appointment, we were in communication with our ped and nurse exchange daily for a week. No fever but her breathing became labored, with retractions, and she was seen in the pediatric ER and given breathing treatments. Negative for RSV and Covid but breathing issues in young babies can turn scary quickly. |
Anonymous
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This is OP, thanks everyone.
No fever yet but I saw retractions last night and decided to wait till morning. Seeing ped in a few minutes. I also ordered a pulse ox that comes later today, that will give me some peace of mind (assuming we're not headed to the hospital today). If we had a better hospital situation I wouldn't be as concerned but I want to be prepared. |
Anonymous
| I agree you should watch some videos to understand what retractions look like. Also try to keep nasal passages clear with a seduction bulb or nosefrida. We had a hospital stay for bronchiolitis when our son was 4 months old with some cold that wasn’t RSV, so while it is a known culprit you need to be careful even if your baby tests negative. |
Anonymous
| I normally wouldn't necessarily recommend it but if you can borrow an owlet from someone that is a good read on oxygen. |
Anonymous
| How is everything OP? |
Anonymous
Good! It's not RSV, ped said a nasty rhinovirus is going around. This was a wake up call to be more careful isolating the toddlers from the baby. Going to be a long winter everyone. |
Anonymous
Glad your baby is okay. It’s impossible to isolate toddlers from the baby unfortunately. My almost -yo was born last novmeber and short of completely isolating her to her room (which we did when she was a newborn and my older toddler was sick) she caught every cold he did. I’m not as an expert but I did nose Frida snot sucker every couple of hours before each feeding to help clear our mucus. Obviously that’s the nose and I don’t know if it helps prevent anything build up in the lungs. But auction, humidifier, keep baby hydrated (add more feedings if they’re eating smaller amounts less frequently) and steamy bathrooms as others suggested. Some people also swear by essential oil rubs on their feet - I’m skeptical that they’re hormone disrupters and as they’re not explicitly recommended by my pediatrician, I don’t like to use them. |
Anonymous
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If DC is using their lower stomach muscles to try to breath, then call 911.
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Anonymous
Did you get a diagnosis for not-RSV? |
Anonymous
Yes, they did a rapid test in the office. I'm not in DC but she said she hasn't seen much RSV yet. |
Anonymous
| My whole family had rsv a week ago, all 3 kids ages 2, 4, 5. The 2 yr old ended up in ER. Can someone recommend reliable brand of oximeters for 2 yr old? |