October is National RSV Awareness Month!

Sharing is caring!

This post was sponsored by AstraZeneca as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

October is National RSV Awareness Month and as a mom, 3 of whom were preemies, I know all about the importance of wanting to protect out little ones, keep them safe, and keeping them healthy. All babies are at risk for catching RSV, but preterm babies are twice as likely to catch RSV during the cold winter months. Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is a common seasonal virus that is contracted by nearly 100 percent of infants by the age two. Symptoms are similar to the common cold or flu and RSV typically circulates between November and March, but it can be much more serious in high-risk infants.

Symptoms to watch for:

• Persistent coughing or wheezing
• Fast or troubled breathing 
• Bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
• Fever (especially if it is over 100.4° in infantsunder 3 months of age [rectal])

There is currently no treatment for RSV disease once contracted so prevention is key. Some ways that I always helped to protect my kids from getting sick when they were babies was to use hand sanitizer on my hands if we were out and before touching them, keeping them covered with a car seat cover so random hands wouldn’t touch them, and keeping them warm while out. You can also follow these simple steps to help protect your child:

• Remind children in your home to always wash their hands and be sure to ask others to do the same.
• Sanitize your child’s belongings (eg, toys,clothes, blankets and sheets) regularly to prevent exposure to germs.
• Visit your child’s pediatrician to find out if he or she may be at  high risk for severe RSV disease

You can learn more about RSV by visiting RSVProtection.com. The site is loaded full of information about RSV, ways to tell if your child is at risk, and prevention tips!

Be sure to save this handy infographic for later use.