Protecting Babies and Young Children from RSV

What RSV does:

  • Infects the lungs and makes it really hard to breathe 
  • Spreads easily through coughs, sneezes, and snot . . . and there’s a lot of snot

It’s serious because:

Protecting babies and toddlers from RSV: Advice from pediatrician Ben Flannery, MD
  • RSV attacks small lungs
  • RSV makes it hard to breathe
  • There’s no treatment for it

To prevent RSV: 

  • Anyone with cough, fever, runny nose should stay away from babies and kids under 2 (sorry, siblings and grandparents!) 
  • Keep kids with cough and fever home from daycare and school – every age

Call your provider if a child under age 2 is: 

  • Breathing fast – more than 1 breath per second
  • Working hard to breathe in – the skin on the ribs or neck are sucking in with each breath
  • Not getting better after 5 days

Go to the Emergency Department for:

  • Baby under 2 months with difficult breathing, or fever 
  • Trouble breathing at night, especially for a child under age 2

To keep healthy over the holidays:

  • Adults with runny nose or cough should not hold the baby Stay at least 3 feet away
  • Every visitor should wash their hands when they arrive