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Winter is coming soon, and as soon as this comes, the child will get sick frequently. I coughed just a little last month, and I had a fever again these days. I have never stopped these "small conditions" since the weather turned cold.
usually has these symptoms, and parents think that their children have a cold. However, during this period, parents should be careful that their children may not have a cold, but are infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) .
From November to April of the following year, this virus is particularly active, which can cause serious respiratory diseases and cause countless parents and children to suffer.
About 34 million children worldwide are infected with this virus every year, of which about 3.4 million children need to be hospitalized for treatment. It is the most common pathogen of wheezing respiratory infection in in children under 5 years old. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even introduced the virus like this: "Almost all children have experienced one or more infections before the age of 2." What's going on with this virus? What are the dangers? How should parents deal with it? Today, let’s talk about this topic.
01 What is respiratory syncytial virus?
Respiratory syncytial virus is a type of pneumonia virus and one of the common respiratory pathogens in children. Because it is related to respiratory tract infection and can fuse infected cells, it is called respiratory syncytial virus .
It is very contagious and can be contagious by coughing, sneezing, and other respiratory droplets. Moreover, this virus can survive on the surface of an object for several hours. If a child accidentally touches the contaminant with his hands and then touches his eyes, nose, and mouth, he may be infected. What are the dangers of respiratory syncytial virus?
Generally speaking, for people with strong body resistance, immunity can fight syncytial virus well. Even if it is infected, it will not show obvious symptoms, or there will be only mild runny nose, cough, etc.
However, children whose immune system has not yet developed, will not only experience symptoms such as runny nose, cough, and fever after being infected with respiratory syncytial virus. After the virus enters from the nasal cavity, it may also go down the respiratory system, stimulating the trachea and lungs, causing children to have shortness of breath and wheezing, and may also cause diseases such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia .
03 How to tell if a child is infected with respiratory syncytial virus?
When a child has symptoms such as cough, runny nose or fever, can he be diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus infection? Obviously not.
Because many viruses or bacteria will show similar symptoms after being infected. To determine whether the child is infected with respiratory syncytial virus, the hospital will also receive laboratory tests.
Doctors usually use a nasal swab (a medical instrument that looks like a slender cotton swab) to dip it into the child's nasal cavity and then analyze it. If the nasal contains antigens of respiratory syncytial virus, it can be confirmed.
Moreover, the detection speed is also very fast. Usually, it can be confirmed whether the child is infected with this virus in about 30 minutes.
04 is infected with respiratory syncytial virus?
We all know that viral infection is a self-limiting disease, that is, it can be cured by body immunity. After
is infected with respiratory syncytial virus, it usually improves significantly about 5 days after the onset of the disease and recovers within about 1 week. In most cases, parents can control the development of the disease by treating the patient symptomatically.
If the child has symptoms of fever, parents will help him reduce the fever in time; if the child coughs, you can use atomization and inhalation + sputum to help the child relieve it.
Timely fever reduction
For children with fever, parents can observe their children's status first.
If the child can eat and play and is in good spirits, parents can take a warm bath or wipe him with a warm towel to help him cool down.
If the child is not energetic, then when his body temperature exceeds 38.5℃, he can take Merrillin (ibuprofen) or Tylenolin (acetaminophen) to reduce the fever.
How to use medicine? In our article "How to take antipyretic drugs, which antipyretic drugs are safer? (Attached Dosage Table)》 has been written in detail, click to view it.
In addition, parents should replenish more liquids for their children.
Specifically, it means feeding more breastfeeding, and feeding more water and rice soup for children over 6 months of age.
Because anti-heat is mainly achieved by evaporating moisture from the skin, insufficient moisture in the child's body will affect the anti-heat effect.
Atomization and inhalation
For children's cough, parents should help them eliminate secretions in the throat.
Specifically, you can atomize and inhale normal saline, which can make the secretions thinner and easier to discharge.
If it is not convenient to atomize, parents can also fill the bathroom with steam, let their children play in it for a while, and inhale some steam, which can also dilute the secretions.
On this basis, parents can pat their children's back to help them excrete secretions.
First, you must knock your palm up, then keep your arms still, exert force with your wrist, and knock on the child’s back. By shaking, it stimulates the child’s cough and helps him discharge secretions, thereby alleviating the symptoms of cough.
back gesture diagram
In addition, many parents will want to feed them some cough medicine to help them relieve cough. This is not recommended for .
Because cough is just a symptom, not the cause, and cough can excrete secretions wrapped in foreign objects and harmful substances from the body, which is of some help in restoring the condition.
blindly relieving cough may cause secretions to remain in the body for too long, aggravating the child's discomfort.
The editor reminds
respiratory syncytial virus infection is more likely to be associated with bacterial infection.
If the child is confirmed to be infected with respiratory syncytial virus and has not improved for 5 days, or he or she has recurrent fever. Parents should take their children to the hospital to check whether they have a bacterial infection to avoid causing greater harm.
05 How to prevent respiratory syncytial virus?
In daily life, parents can help their children prevent infection with respiratory syncytial virus from the following aspects.
Breastfeeding
For children under 6 months of age, it is best to insist on breastfeeding. The IgA component in breast milk has a protective effect on babies and can reduce the occurrence of respiratory diseases.
Wash your hands frequently
Wash your hands correctly, wash them with soapy water for 20 seconds each time, which can effectively prevent respiratory syncytial virus infection. Parents should not only wash their children's hands, but also wash their hands frequently to avoid being infected with the virus on their hands before spreading them to their children.
7-step hand washing diagram
Keep air circulation
Open more windows in the room for ventilation, ventilate for 30 minutes in the first and afternoons to keep the indoor air fresh. Letting children breathe more fresh air can help dilute the concentration of virus in the nasal cavity and reduce the incidence of infection.
Avoid second-hand smoke
Studies have shown that children exposed to "second-hand smoke" environment have a higher rate of respiratory syncytial virus infection. Therefore, parents should try to avoid their children from being in a "second-hand smoke" environment.
Stay away from crowded places
When the disease is high, try not to take your children to places like shopping malls, supermarkets, etc., so as to reduce the time between children and the patients.
The editor reminds
With the arrival of the high incidence of the virus, the number of children infected with this virus will gradually increase. Parents should take precautions and be careful of their attacks~
Finally, if you find it useful, I hope you can share these skills with others.
Share health, you can also become someone else's hero, refill ~
