RSV Season

I never thought three little letters would strike fear into my heart, but they do: RSV. Never heard of it? I hadn't either until Princess was born premature. Now it's all that I worry about. Here's what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says about it:

Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. Most otherwise healthy people recover from RSV infection in 1 to 2 weeks. However, infection can be severe in some people, such as certain infants, young children, and older adults. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States. In addition, RSV is more often being recognized as an important cause of respiratory illness in older adults. More on RSV from the CDC

RSV is easily transmitted. It's found in what we healthy people would get in the common cold. And we all know how easily it is to catch the common cold! It can be fatal to infants or others with compromised immune systems or respiratory disorders.

So what can we do about it?

1. Princess qualifies for the Synagis series. It DOES NOT prevent RSV. It only helps lessen the severity of it IF she gets it. It doesn't treat or cure RSV. I am working on getting this series for her through her pediatrician or her cardiologist. I'm not sure who yet.

2. Princess will be under house arrest come October 1. So essentially, she won't be going out and about. Sure, we'll still go to the grandparents' houses assuming they're all well, but no church, no stores, no large crowds for her. Sadly, this means that myself and Little Man will be staying inside as well when it is just us. We'll still go to all of Princess's doctor's appointments, but that's about it.

3. Hand washing is a MUST! It's the simplest thing, but also the most crucial. I already feel like wash my hands a dozen times a day, but it will be about a dozen times more once October gets here.

Some of you may have seen this picture already of the soap that I stocked up on at Target.

Well, here's the stockpile for RSV season:

All the sinks in my house already have soap and sanitizer by them. They also have Clorox wipes underneath them. One other thing they're all getting is a box of those Kleenex hand towels. It makes SO much sense because your hands are only as clean as the towel you just dried them on. So why not use a fresh towel every time you wash your hands?

Beneath that is also the stockpile of Kleenex tissues that you can't see. Hopefully it will still be there come spring.*

*This entry was written BEFORE the chaos that is presently going on.