Keeping Kids Out Of Harm’s Way During RSV Season

While most people think of the flu virus during this time of year, Winslow Memorial Hospital is concentrating on another nasty bug.

During Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) season, the hospital has banned children under the age of 11 from entering the facility as a visitor.

RSV is a virus that affects all ages, but because the virus is contracted through physical contact, children are more likely to catch the virus. The ban was put into effect to keep children from touching infected areas around the hospital and then transporting the virus to their bodies by touching their face.

Dr. Miriam Yu, pediatrician for WMH, said that the ban on children visitors would probably be lifted sometime in the spring, when the peak RSV season ends. She added that children are allowed into the hospital if they are a patient.

RSV resembles the flu except that it mainly attacks the lower respiratory tract (lungs and airways) instead of the upper respiratory tract (nose and throat).

Symptoms are identical to the common cold or flu, except difficulty breathing or wheezing accompanies the virus.

The virus attacks the airways in the lungs and constricts them, much like asthma. The constriction makes exhaling difficult and the patient will begin to wheeze.

When a doctor sees a patient they believe could have RSV, tests involving a swab of the back of the throat are taken. Results of the tests are usually available within 20 or 30 minutes.

Dr. Yu explained that if a person has a mild case of RSV, they are sent home for rest and relaxation.

She added that a healthy adult body can usually fight off RSV, but because it is a virus, there is no antibiotic for it. Dr. Yu explained that when a person comes in with a severe case of RSV, they are admitted into the hospital to receive fluids and oxygen, if needed.

Dr. Yu said that the easiest way to prevent the virus is by washing your hands often, even at home.

The most cases of RSV are seen in babies between the ages of six months and two years.

Anita Warboys, Administrator for WMH, said that the hospital has seen a decent number of RSV cases for a rural community in the past years. WMH has only seen one case of RSV so far this season.

Although the tests are not free, Dr. Yu advised that if you are suffering from a cold for a week or more and are having difficulties breathing, to stop by the ER and be tested.