This is a post to let anyone out there who has small kids to watch out for this virus. It is a really nasty virus that attacks the resirpatory (sp.?) system. We have our 18 day old baby here in the Emanuel Pediatric ICU unit. We noticed that he was having trouble breathing ( really stuffy nose, chest retracting , blueing lips ). We took him to the ER on 3/3 and they gave him an airway medication treatment and sent him home. The next afternoon he was having trouble breathing again and started having Apnic episodes (stopped breathing). We rushed him to the ER again and then he was sent via ambulance up here to Emanuel. Once he got here they took chest x-rays and gave him the test for the RSV Virus. He came back positive. We found out that 80% of the children up here are suffering from the same crud. He has been here for 7 days now and is doing much better. As for the virus there is no cure so all the doctors can do is treat the symptoms as they arise. For example : They suction his nose every two to four hours for congestion, they give him airway treatments to help get the mucus out of his lungs, he is on blow-by oxygen to keep his blood/oxygen level above 90%). He is hooked up to a monitoring system which moniters the breaths per minute, blood pressure, blood/O2 level, and heartbeats. The only thing that can really be done is watching him and let the virus run its course. Once he can maintain his O2 level on his own w/o support he should be able to go home . Here is an article defining more about this stuff:

Respiratory syncytial virus infection
Author/s: Tish Davidson

Definition
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a virus that can cause severe lower respiratory infections in children under the age of two, and milder upper respiratory infections in older children and adults. RSV infection is also called bronchiolitis, because it is marked in young children by inflammation of the bronchioles. Bronchioles are the narrow airways that lead from the bronchi to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The result is wheezing, difficulty breathing, and sometimes fatal respiratory failure.

Description
RSV infection is caused by a group of viruses found worldwide. There are two different subtypes of the virus with numerous different strains. Taken together, these viruses account for a significant number of deaths in infants.

RSV infection is primarily a disease of winter or early spring, with waves of illness sweeping through a community. The rate of RSV infection is estimated to be 11.4 cases in every 100 children during their first year of life. In the United States, RSV infection occurs most frequently in infants between the ages of two and six months.

RSV infection shows distinctly different symptoms, depending on the age of the infected person. In children under two, the virus causes a serious lower respiratory infection in the lungs. In older children and healthy adults, it causes a mild upper respiratory infection often mistaken for the common cold.

Although anyone can get this disease, infants suffer the most serious symptoms and complications. Breast feeding seems to provide partial protection from the virus. Conditions in infants that increase their risk of infection include:

Premature birth
Lower socio-economic environment
Congenital heart disease
Chronic lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis
Immune system deficiencies, including HIV infection
Immunosuppressive therapy given to organ transplant patients.
Many older children and adults get RSV infection, but the symptoms are so similar to the common cold that the true cause is undiagnosed. People of any age with weakened immune systems, either from such diseases as AIDS or leukemia, or as the result of chemotherapy or corticosteroid medications, are more at risk for serious RSV infections. So are people with chronic lung disease.

Causes & symptoms
Respiratory syncytial virus is spread through close contact with an infected person. It has been shown that if a person with RSV infection sneezes, the virus can be carried to others within a radius of six feet. This group of viruses is hardy. They can live on the hands for up to half an hour and on toys or other inanimate objects for several hours.

Scientists have yet to understand why RSV viruses attack the lower respiratory system in infants and the upper respiratory system in adults. In infants, RSV begins with such cold symptoms as a low fever, runny nose, and sore throat. Soon, other symptoms appear that suggest an infection which involves the lower airways. Some of these symptoms resemble those of asthma. RSV infection is suggested by:
Wheezing and high-pitched, whistling breathing
Rapid breathing (more than 40 breaths per minute)
Shortness of breath
Labored breathing out (exhalations)
Bluish tinge to the skin (cyanosis)
Croupy, seal-like, barking cough
High fever.
Breathing problems occur in RSV infections because the bronchioles swell, making it difficult for air to get in and out of the lungs. If the child is having trouble breathing, immediate medical care is needed. Breathing problems are most common in infants under one year of age; they can develop rapidly.

Diagnosis
Physical examination and imaging studies
RSV infection is usually diagnosed during a physical examination by the pediatrician or primary care doctor. The doctor listens with a stethoscope for wheezing and other abnormal lung sounds in the patient's chest. The doctor will also take into consideration whether there is a known outbreak of RSV infection in the area. Chest x rays give some indication of whether the lungs are hyperinflated from an effort to move air in and out. X rays may also show the presence of a secondary bacterial infection, such as pneumonia.

Laboratory tests
A blood test can also detect RSV infection. This test measures the level of antibodies the body has formed against the virus. The blood test is less reliable in infants than in older children because antibodies in the infant's blood may have come from the mother during pregnancy. If infants are hospitalized, other tests such as an arterial blood gas analysis are done to determine if the child is receiving enough oxygen.

Treatment
Home care
Home treatment for RSV infection is primarily supportive. It involves taking steps to ease the child's breathing. Dehydration can be a problem, so children should be encouraged to drink plenty of fluids. Antibiotics have no effect on viral illnesses. In time, the body will make antibodies to fight the infection and return itself to health.

Home care for keeping a child with RSV comfortable and breathing more easily includes:

Use a cool mist room humidifier to ease congestion and sore throat.
Raise the baby's head by putting books under the head end of the crib.
Give acetaminophen (Tylenol, Pandol, Tempra) for fever. Aspirin should not be given to children because of its association with Reye's syndrome, a serious disease.
For babies too young to blow their noses, suction away any mucus with an infant nasal aspirator.
Hospital treatment
In the United States, RSV infections are responsible for 90,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths each year. Children who are hospitalized receive oxygen and humidity through a mist tent or vaporizer. They also are given intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration. Mechanical ventilation may be necessary. Blood gases are monitored to assure that the child is receiving enough oxygen.

Medications
Bronchiodilators, such as albuterol (Proventil, Ventilin), may be used to keep the airways open. Ribavirin (Virazole) is used for desperately ill children to stop the growth of the virus. Ribavirin is both expensive and has toxic side effects, so its use is restricted to the most severe cases.

Alternative treatment
Alternative medicine has little to say specifically about bronchiolitis, especially in very young children. Practitioners emphasize that people get viral illnesses because their immune systems are weak. Prevention focuses on strengthening the immune system by eating a healthy diet low in sugars and high in fresh fruits and vegetables, reducing stress, and getting regular, moderate exercise. Like traditional practitioners, alternative practitioners recommend breastfeeding infants so that the child may benefit from the positive state of health of the mother. Inhaling a steaming mixture of lemon oil, thyme oil, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil (aromatherapy) may make breathing easier.

Prognosis
RSV infection usually runs its course in 7-14 days. The cough may linger weeks longer. There are no medications that can speed the body's production of antibodies against the virus. Opportunistic bacterial infections that take advantage of a weakened respiratory system may cause ear, sinus, and throat infections or pneumonia.

Hospitalization and death are much more likely to occur in children whose immune systems are weakened or who have underlying diseases of the lungs and heart. People do not gain permanent immunity to respiratory syncytial virus and can be infected many times. Children who suffer repeated infections seem to be more likely to develop asthma in later life.

Prevention
As of 1998 there are no vaccines against RSV. Respiratory syncytial virus infection is so common that prevention is impossible. However, steps can be taken to reduce a child's contact with the disease. People with RSV symptoms should stay at least six feet away from young children. Frequent handwashing, especially after contact with respiratory secretions, and the correct disposal of used tissues help keep the disease from spreading. Parents should try to keep their children under 18 month old away from crowded environments-- for example, shopping malls during holiday seasons-- where they are likely to come in contact with older people who have only mild symptoms of the disease. Child care centers should regularly disinfect surfaces that children touch.

Key Terms
Alveoli
Small air sacs or cavities in the lung that give the tissue a honeycomb appearance and expand its surface area for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Antibody
A protein produced by specialized white blood cells in response to the presence of a foreign protein such as a virus. Antibodies help the body fight infection.
Reye's syndrome
A rare disorder in children that follows a viral infection and is associated with a reaction to aspirin. Its symptoms include vomiting, damaged liver function, and swelling of the brain.
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Gale Research, 1999.

Do not mess with this stuff, It is really bad and it's not fun having your baby in the hospital.

Thanks- John Barth

My thoughts are with you FM, and with your little one. You are in good hands over there and all will be well.

Kiss him on the forehead for me.

Take care, all of you
David

FM, hope everything is ok, just over a year ago my son went through this, or so we thought.
He woke up 1 night having breathing difficulties, and a fever, we called his pediatrician and he sent us immeadiately to Childrens hosp. in Seattle. They had 2 rookie doctors examine him and they concluded it was RSV, which got my son Nathan admitted to the isolated, RSV room with 5 other infected kids. After 2 days in this room they ran a test on him and realized he didn't have RSV (at least not yet).
It ended up being an adnoidal virus (bad cold) and a "gee were sorry, we didn't actually test him before admitting him, the Dr. just assumed it was RSV. Again please accept our apology", what a bunch of crap, needless to say, we were relieved but also very angry.
My son has some medical problems and this has required us to spend alot of time at Childrens, for the most part they do great work, but this has taught us to question everything, and ask for second and third opinions.
I hope everything turns out well, my wife and I will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Thank You for the kind words..........
The main thing is I wanted to make sure that anyone who has small children is very familiar with this virus because chances are that they are going to come in contact with it sooner or later. The best defense is knowing the facts about it and knowing the symptoms. That way you dont get blindsided like we did. Before last week, my wife and I had never heard of it. Knowledge is key......
John

Our thoughts are with you John.
Take care,
Stew

Fishinmagician,
I feel for you guy, I`ve been there, my 3 year old suffered from RSV when she was an infant also, She spent 6 days in the intensive care nursery getting breathing treatments every 4 hrs. I discovered it the same way you did, I went in to check on her one night and I noticed her breathing was very shallow, almost asmatic. Actually, that`s what I thought was going on
at the time so I took her to the emergency room, turns out she had RSV, and they were getting something like 7 kids a day in there suffering from it, some had to be sent to children`s, some sent home, and some , like my daughter, treated there at the hospital.
He`ll be fine guy, Jesus watches over our children. I`ll say a prayer for his speedy recovery.
I didn`t see his name in your post, but that`s ok, the Lord knows who it is.
I spent 5 nights sleeping in an old recliner there in her room, and was grateful for the excellent care she was given by the nursing staff.

Indeed our thoughts are with you. Illnesses to infants are tough on everyone.

RSV is nothing more than a cold virus, but it can be very dangerous to infants. It is also very common. You and I could have RSV at this very moment, and think we have nothing more than a minor cold.

RSV can also be very dangerous to adults with immune system disorders. I spent three weeks in January sitting by my mother's bedside in a Denver hospital while she was on a ventilator. She had initially become ill with the flu, and then came down with pneumonia. She was admitted to the hospital, but despite their best efforts, she came within hours of passing away. In a last ditch effort, the docs tested for RSV and found that she did have it. The diagnosis gave them a better handle on how to set the ventilator, and they managed to turn her vitals around. She's back home now, but still has months of PT ahead of her.

Anyway, best of luck to you and your family. Many of us can identify with what you have gone through.

Hang in there! We all have the same feelings when it comes to kids with serious illness. Hope your back on the river wtih this behind you soon