Anonymous wrote:Op, masking is to recommended for RSV
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think the idea of RSV is worrying, but like flu, rarely leads to hospitalization. Assuming no preexisting health conditions — For these and other illnesses, I would not preemptively mask, but would just take usual precautions like washing hands, vaccines where possible, and monitor for symptoms and react accordingly.
The risk of hospitalization due to rsv is 1-2% for infants less than 6 mo. But this is mostly composed of premature infants and infants under 3 months. The risk is the same as it has always been, but the hospitals are full because everyone is getting it at the same time.
A few years ago, we wouldn’t have taken extra precautions for a healthy full term 6 month old due to rsv (risk of hospitalization - low, impact of getting sick- moderate). Today you have to weigh in the risk of less than optimal treatment due to full hospitals (risk of hospitalization low, impact of getting sick + oversubscribed resources - moderate to severe). So I would make my decision on how comfortable I am with the low risk of bad outcome from rsv for a healthy full term infant (probably <1%) and how full the local hospitals are.
Depending on your risk tolerance you could decide that it’s a low enough risk and the impact of isolating your kids is not worth it. Or you could decide to take precautions like staying at home and masking until hospitals are not as full. RSV will come to your household eventually, it’s just a matter of when.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If you breastfed and didn’t have c sections, I wouldn’t worry too much about rsv. It’s a cold. Do your kids’ colds usually go to their lungs?
He is a C section baby born at 38 weeks.
My kids are healthy but my DS5 was dramatically sick for a day with covid (looked like appendicitis) and visited the ER for that. I don't think he would get dramatically sick but to be honest I am kind of selfish and I don't want to go through the 24-48 hours of ER hell with wailing babies.
I’m PP from 12:13. Given your experience with your 5 year old and your concern about rsv, I think you would feel more at ease if you did take precautions for the next couple of months. It’s not selfish to want to avoid the 24-48 h of ER, that’s terrible for everyone! It’s a shame for your middle child, who has missed out on a lot, but we are between holidays, so there is probably not much school anyway.
No one addressed your original question about rsv antibodies - the last I heard was that testing is not very helpful because the results can be inconsistent. Also, immunity to rsv is fleeting, and reinfection throughout life is common, which explain the concern for kids with lung problems and older adults.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If you breastfed and didn’t have c sections, I wouldn’t worry too much about rsv. It’s a cold. Do your kids’ colds usually go to their lungs?
He is a C section baby born at 38 weeks.
My kids are healthy but my DS5 was dramatically sick for a day with covid (looked like appendicitis) and visited the ER for that. I don't think he would get dramatically sick but to be honest I am kind of selfish and I don't want to go through the 24-48 hours of ER hell with wailing babies.
Anonymous wrote:If you breastfed and didn’t have c sections, I wouldn’t worry too much about rsv. It’s a cold. Do your kids’ colds usually go to their lungs?
Anonymous wrote:I think the idea of RSV is worrying, but like flu, rarely leads to hospitalization. Assuming no preexisting health conditions — For these and other illnesses, I would not preemptively mask, but would just take usual precautions like washing hands, vaccines where possible, and monitor for symptoms and react accordingly.