[Mom2Max]

Max and Ava have been sick for a week with a really bad colds and coughs.( or so I thought) Yesterday Ava started weezing a little bit when she was breathing. I probably wouldn't have taken her in except my friend called this afternoon telling me her daughter had pneumonia and that it was going around.
So I took the kiddos into the night clinic and the DR. said Ava has RSV and that her lungs are full of gunk. It's hard not to panic when you hear those three letters. RSV! They gave her a "breathing treatment" and she coughed up some of the gunk, and the Dr. said it cleared her up quite a bit, and he sent me home with medicine.

Has anyone had any experience with RSV? I might be paranoid, but I am really worried about my little one. I would love to hear anyone else's experiences with it. Ava is 10 months old so does this mean she is less likely to get a serious case?

[mommytobug]

My dd is 9 now but was diagnosed with RSV at 10 months. It was so scarey. Her temp went way up. They hospitalized her and she was under an oxygen tent and also had breathing treatments. They sent us home with them also. She had URIs and bronchitis off and on after that. Weather changes always triggered it. Did he actually do a test on your dd? We were tested at hospital and had to wait for the diagnosis. There was gloves, etc outside our door as it is very contagious. Although still scarey, I think RSV is more dangerous the younger the child is.

[Tigger2]

My nephew had RSV as an 8 month old. It was very scary. He was hospitalized for over a week. I don't want to scare you, however I would really watch your little one. Prayers are with all of you!

[mumofone]

My oldest had it when he was just 3 months old. He was also a preemie (6 weeks early). Although he was quite sick with the RSV, he made a full recovery. I was terrified because he was barely drinking anything. He was in the hospital for 5 days. I made the Ped. promise me he would be okay.

[ContactChar]

My DS had RSV-induced bronchiolitis when he was 10 or 11 mos. It was scary, but he got over it without hospitalization. He continued coughing for a long time after diagnosis, so they finally gave him a 5 day course of prednilosone (which I was VERY afraid of, but which worked wonders) and I had to get a breathing machine. I still use the breathing machine from time to time if he's coughing a lot (DS is 12-1/2 mos), but I never used it regularly. I'm not sure it's really worth its salt, but DS does seem a little happier with the treatment.

HTH!

Char

[chrisandaaron]

So sorry to hear that! We had a 2 day hospital stay with my 2 year old earlier this week for pneumonia I thought it was just another cold/flu and was a little taken aback when our doctor sent us to the hospital. Sounds like you caught it early. My little guy bounced back quickly with some antibiotics, steriods, and breathing treatments (which we have to do for another week). Good luck and I hope your little one is better soon! If they seem like they are getting worse or breathing is getting labored don't be afraid to take them right to the ER.

[SamIAm2]

My daughter was hospitalized with RSV when she was only 2 weeks old. This was before we met her. She was placed with us at one month old and I would have never known that she was ever sick if her bfamily did not tell me. She recovered just fine and is a healthy happy 2 year old!

I hope your little one feels better soon.

[lakin11]

My Foster son is 6 months old and just diagnosed last week with RSV. It hasn't ever gotten worse than what seemed like a cold. Runny nose, slight cough, and lo-grade fever for 2 days. We were at the Dr's for his 6 month check up, but she wanted him tested for RSV. He's almost over it now it seems. My former foster son had something similar last winter, and same doctor did nothing, not even testing him for it.

There is no medication they can give for it. Just runs it course or breathing treatments if they get to the point of wheezing.

Good luck, hope it remains mild.

[jjlutefisk]

My dd just got over a bout with something but no one ever said RSV. They did a chest xray and gave her a prescription for albuterol to use in a nebulizer. She did not get better. She was coughing coughing coughing and having a fever. She wouldn't drink a bottle. I took her back to the doctor and found out her lungs were worse. They didn't put her in the hospital but they gave her prednisone and antibiotics and that cleared it up. I was so scared! She has been better for about a week and a half. Her first birthday was yesterday. She was a 4 lb. preemie when she was born and this was her first real real sickness. I hope your kids get better soon!

[Mom2Max]

Well...update..... I took Ava in last night because she just keeps sounding worse, and they sent me over to the hospital to get her sinuses sucked out. She had so much gunk sucked out that they told me I need to bring her in twice a day to be cleared out. I took her again this morning and sure enough there was a lot of gunk again. They gave me a nebulizer (sp?) to bring home and do breathing treatments. It is so hard to get her to cooperate. She hates doing it. I am emotionally drained. I am hoping we can get this under control before it gets worse. I hate seeing her so miserable.

[chrisandaaron]

Hang in there with the breathing treatments. When we started them last week in the hospital my ds would kick and scream and I would have to hold him down while someone else held the mask near him THE WHOLE TIME! This week he says, "mommy I do it," and he turns on the machine and sits on the couch with the end of the pipe in his mouth like he is playing an instrument. I feel for you and hope she gets through this soon!

[shy_bear]

You may want to check with your nurse/doc about letting the baby cry while you do treatments. We were told the baby is NOT to cry during treatments b/c the meds go into the stomach vs. the lungs. I know easier said than done...we see a pulmonologist b/c we deal with asthma. Try putting the mask on your child's face while you are not doing a treatment so he/she can fidget with it and see that it is OK. Good luck!!!!!

[2manyks]

my son - a 10 pounder had rsv. he lived although it was miserable. we also have a nebulizer for my childrens asthma. when they were babies i would give them their treatments when they were sleeping. works great.

[devildogwife]

I'm curious because I've only dealt with my medically fragile son and no other healthy children; do your kids not get the synagis shot every month? Do I guess correctly that insurance will only pay in extreme cases (like Cameron's)?

So sorry you're dealing with this.

[gigigeorge]

Insurance companies will generally only pay for the Synagis shot if you child is a preemie, or has other breathing related issues. The shots are very expensive anywhere from $1200-2000 a month depending on weight and its 1 shot a month for 5-6 months depending on the RSV season. Owen gets the shot because he was a preemie. However the Synagis shot is not an immunization but rather a antibody booster. So they can still get RSV even with the shot but generally seem to be able to fight it off better.

Our ped said that 90% of people get RSV before age 5 but for those without major breathing issues it tends to appear as nothing more than a cold.

g.