The whole family can get RSV although it's rare for the whole family to get RSV from a child but it can happen.
Infants and children are the ones who gets RSV the most although adults can also get RSV.
Babies who are premature or 6 months or under and children who have heart disease that is present from birth or lung disease are the most likely to get RSV.
Adults with chronic lung or heart disease or weakened immune systems and adults 65 and older are most likely to get RSV.
It's very unlikely to get RSV twice although possible.
Unfortunately, people do not seem to develop complete immunity to RSV, so it's possible to get RSV multiple times even within one season.
If you get RSV more than once, however, symptoms tend to be milder after the first bout of the infection.
While it's possible to get RSV twice in the same season, it's not very common.
Your risk of getting RSV again after an initial infection is about 70% lower within the first 6 months.
The only way to tell for sure if it's RSV or a cold is to have an RSV test done by a doctor.
The RSV test can tell for sure whether it's a cold or if you have RSV.
Children and adults with RSV typically have two to four days of upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as fever and runny nose/congestion.
These are then followed by lower respiratory tract symptoms, like increasing wheezing cough that sounds wet and forceful with increased work breathing.
RSV sometimes does leave permanent damage to organs or tissues although most often the tissue or organ damage from RSV usually only lasts until after the RSV infection has passed and gone away.
Sometimes the organ and tissue damage from RSV is long lasting or sometimes permanent.
RSV can sometimes also lead to worsening of serious conditions such as: Asthma.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a chronic disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe.
Congestive heart failure – when the heart can't pump enough blood and oxygen through the body.
RSV will look like a flu in adults and cause flu like symptoms which include fatigue, mild fever, headache, runny nose, congestion, sore throat and cough.
In more severe cases of RSV in adults it can cause more serious coughing and wheezing, pneumonia, inability to breathe effectively on your own and even death.
In adults RSV can turn into pneumonia or lung infections which can lead to worsening of other serious conditions such as asthma or COPD.
RSV is rarely serious for adults although in some cases RSV can be serious and become dangerous in certain adults.
Out of 60,000 to 160,000 older adults that are hospitalized for RSV each year in the United States around 6,000 to 10,000 of those older adults die from the RSV.
You can go home with RSV and continue your recovery from RSV at home.
Only around 3 percent of children who have RSV will require a stay in the hospital and even then most of those children with RSV go home from the hospital in a couple of days.
You should rest with RSV to help speed up recovery from RSV and also take over the counter pain relievers and fever reduces and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
A child cannot go to school with RSV until they are no longer contagious.
Kids with RSV cannot be around other kids as they are contagious and should stay home from school and away from other kids until they are no longer contagious.
RSV can be spread from kids to other kids and from kids to adults as well.
You should keep your kid home from school or daycare or away from other kids until they recover from the RSV.
The fastest way to get rid of RSV is to manage fever and pain with over-the-counter fever reducers and pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. (Never give aspirin to children.)
Drink enough fluids.
It is important for people with RSV infection to drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration (loss of body fluids).
The treatment for RSV is simply getting plenty of rest, staying hydrated and taking some over the counter pain relievers and fever reducers.
Most cases of mild RSV infections go away within 1 to 2 weeks without the need for medical treatment.
Adults can get RSV from a child as RSV is contagious from child to adult and from child to child and adults to adults.
You can get RSV from being around someone else's child or your own child.
RSV is very contagious and can spread from child to child or from child to adult very easily.
RSV is very contagious to adults so you should wash your hands and also wear a mask when around a child or baby with RSV.
Also wash bedding and clothing and wipe down surfaces that a baby or toddler or anyone that has RSV has touched.
Anybody of any age can catch RSV although it's most common in infants, toddlers and young children.
If you're around an infant or young child or child that has RSV then you can also catch it and you might even catch it from someone else that has it as well.
RSV is contagious and anyone that is around an infant or child with RSV can get the virus.
RSV can also survive for several hours on crib rails, tables and other hard surfaces.
RSV starts with a sore throat and with a cough along with other symptoms that can mimic the common cold.
The first signs of RSV are congestion, running nose, fever, cough and sore throat which is similar to mild cold symptoms.
In very young infants the RSV can cause the infant to become irritable, have breathing difficulties and be fatigued.
Most often the symptoms of RSV will go away on their own within a few days.
You should take your child to the hospital with RSV if the child has any dehydration or decrease in wet diapers and has difficult, labored, rapid or shallow breathing or a high fever.
Most babies will recover naturally from RSV without complications.
The virus is common, and while sick babies may get a cough, congestion, and sometimes a fever, they will not need hospital treatment.
However, it is essential to monitor them closely to ensure they can breathe and drink well.
RSV does most often get worse before it gets better which is normal.
Your doctor or pediatrician will closely monitor you or your child and if needed will direct you to an emergency room for further care.
If RSV is left untreated it can lead to more severe infections and health problems such as bronchiolitis which is inflammation of your small airways in your lungs and also pneumonia which is an infection of your lungs.
RSV is the most common cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in children younger than 1 year of age.
Adults can get RSV from a child and adults can also be infected with RSV even when not around a child.
While RSV is most common in infants and young children it's also possible for adults to have RSV.
The only way to tell if it's RSV or a cold is to see a doctor and get tested for RSV.
The doctor or pediatrician will ask about the symptoms and by doing a physical exam.
During the physical exam the doctor will also do a nasal swab test in order to determine if it's RSV or another virus such as a cold.
Another test that can be done for RSV vs a cold is an X-Ray of the chest or oxygen saturation test which can check for lung congestion.
Symptoms of RSV are usually the same as common cold symptoms: cough, runny nose.
However with RSV the difference is the runny nose is going to be significantly mucusy, copious amounts of mucus.
You can also get some redness of the eyes, coughing, sore, scratchy throat.
Initial signs of RSV are similar to mild cold symptoms, including congestion, runny nose, fever, cough and sore throat.
Very young infants may be irritable, fatigued and have breathing difficulties.
Normally these symptoms will clear up on their own in a few days.