RSV Season Here We Come

After almost 2 months of fighting with the insurance company Justin finally received his first of five Synagis injections. He will receive an injection monthly during the RSV season (October through April in most regions) to increase his immunity to RSV. I know I briefly discussed RSV in a previous post but for those of you who plan to visit us over the next few months, and even if you are not, please take a few minutes to read this.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a very common virus. It infects half of all children during their first year of life and by age five all children will have been infected at least once. Respiratory infections caused by RSV are most common during the winter months. While most infections are mild, RSV can cause severe illness in infants who were born prematurely or who have lung problems. Up to half of these infants who become infected need to be hospitalized for breathing difficulty. Some infants get sicker than others because premature infants and infants with serious lung conditions have underdeveloped respiratory and immune systems that are less able to fight infections. This website offers a great visual comparison of a preemie’s lungs compared to the lungs of a full-term baby: http://www.preemiecare.org/LungsTrees03-4.pdf

Preventing the spread of RSV is very difficult. Thus, we must be vigilant about keeping Justin safe during RSV season. The virus is spread through physical contact, in the air via a cough or sneeze, or by touching an infected object. The virus can live as long as six hours on hands and up to twelve hours on objects, and it spreads very easily, especially from child to child. Studies have also shown that infants pose an even higher risk of spreading RSV to others.

You may ask, “Can’t he fight it off and build up his immune system? Kids need to get sick, right?” The simple answer is NO. Since Justin was pre-term he did not acquire the necessary immunities to fight off infection. If he were to contract RSV he could be hospitalized and develop serious complications.

We’ll be asking our visitors to follow a few guidelines to help prevent Justin from contracting RSV or any other illness. We ask that all visitors do the following:

1. When you arrive, please wash your hands and use hand-sanitizer as needed before touching him.
2. Please, if it is possible, get a flu shot.
3. Please refrain from coming over if you are currently sick and have not been symptom-free for at least 5 days, if you live with someone who is sick, or have been in close contact with someone who is sick.
4. If you smoke, we ask that you change your clothing and refrain from smoking prior to visiting, as a preemie’s lungs are very sensitive to smoke. Most RSV sites recommend against passive smoke exposure.
5. If you are parents to a baby or toddler, please refrain from bringing them to our house during RSV season.

It was a hard decision, one that we went back and forth on many times and discussed with Justin's pediatrician, home care nurse and NICU doctors, but unfortunately we will not be attending many events during RSV season. Our goal is to make it through this and the next RSV seasons without Justin contracting RSV or any other serious illness. His lungs are still very fragile until he is 2-years-old. Please understand that this post is not meant to offend anyone, just simply to provide an explanation. We hope you understand, and we appreciate your help keeping Justin safe.

Love
Carl, Georgina & Justin