What is RSV? What should parents be looking for?
MINNEAPOLIS -- Medical experts are warning of a triple-demic this winter – influenza, COVID-19 and RSV. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there's been a big spike in RSV hospitalizations over the past two weeks.
So, what is RSV? Good Question.
"It's respiratory syncytial virus," said Dr. Krishnan Subrahmanian, a pediatrician with Hennepin Healthcare. "It affects our lungs, it affects our respiratory system and is descriptive of the way that the virus attacks the lungs. It melds cells together and that's something you call a syncytia."
RSV is a common virus especially during the fall and winter months, but is coming in strong earlier this year. Susan Blasé, her 2-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter all came down with RSV last week.
"Apparently when you have RV and you're up at night, your mom's face works as a good pillow that's very comforting," Blasé said. "There was not a lot of sleep for anyone in the house."
Blasé said their symptoms ranged from fever to coughing to fatigue and ear pain. At one point, her daughter was wheezing and missed a full week of school. She alternated Tylenol and Ibuprofen to treat to symptoms.
"It was kind of watch and see," she said. "I just monitored to make sure it didn't get worse."
RSV can infect people at any age, but it's more serious for young children and older adults – groups with weaker lungs. It generally starts with cold symptoms in the head, but can affect the lungs.
"When it makes that turn – from the upper respiratory tract to the lower respiratory tract – that's when we begin to worry a bit more and take more precautions," said Subrahmanian.
Subrahmanian said you should bring your child to the doctor when he or she is having difficulty breathing, breathing harder, you can see the ribs or the child can't stay hydrated. A person struggling with RSV might need extra oxygen and hydration for 3 to 5 days until the lungs can recover.
There is a nasal swab test for RSV, but no vaccine. Subrahmanian said almost everyone, even more serious cases, recover just fine after a week or two.