My boys haev been sick now for about 3 days. The illness spread rather quickly, starting as a runny noses but progressing into massive mucus and a very tight cough. I ended up taking Nathan to the ER this morning because he has asthma and was wheezing even after having his nebulizer treatments. The doctor labeled it as an upper respiratory infection. He did another breathing treatment in the ER and sent us home on oral steroids. My question is, when do they determine if it's RSV?

Mom of BBB born 7/1/02 at 33 weeks

They can do a nose swab and send it off to the lab. Whatever the cause, though, be it RSV or some other virus, the treatment would be the same.

Hope the little guys feel better soon!

Mom of a princess, age six, and two princes, age 4

Actually, if the RSV is bad enough to require being hospitalized, there is a treatment called ribavirin that can halt the virus in it's tracks and kill it in the body. My son, Henry, had it(RSV) last year when he was 6 weeks old and he almost died from it. He had 9 ribavirin treatments while in the hopsital. He was being treated by the pulmonologist- the pediatrician didn't even KNOW about ribavirin. If we kept on with him,(pedi) my son would have died. Also, ribavirin is extremely expensive- about the same as synagis shots-$1000-$2000 a treatment.

Korrie~
^i^B/G/G 24 w 3d,1/17/00
B 10/31/01
B 1/27/03

<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="" alt="Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a>

I am glad you asked that question b/c my babies are only 3 and a half weeks old and they have terrible colds. My dr.told me that if the babies look like they have to labor to breathe or they start running fever, that is a sign that their is something truly wrong. But, for both you and I, I hope someone else has more concrete signs. I really need to know.

http://www.tickercentral.com"[>img border="0"src="http://www.tickercentral.com/view/2hzi/1"[]/a[]

My kids had colds when they were about 4 weeks old and they caught it from the peds office. It started out with my daughter Vanessa and then she gave it to Bobby and then Daniela caught it. Fortunately, by the time Daniela caught it, it was less severe. Talk about sleepless nights!!! For me that is!!!

Hope your babies feel better soon. I've been told that is good if they catch colds because it builds their immune system but it doesn't make it any easier.

Cristina
Proud mommy to Daniela, Bobby and Vanessa
Born June 28, 2003 - The best day of my life!!!

Cristina
Proud mommy to Daniela, Bobby and Vanessa
Born June 28, 2003 - The best day of my life!!!

Just a word of caution , RSV can have silent symptoms in young infants. my three got sick when they were 6/7 weeks , and the one who got sick last , with the mildest symptoms, actually ended up with full blown RSV.. his breathing appeared normal, no fever, nada, but he apparently was having episodes of not breathing and the only sign was bluish fingernails. He ended up in PEDS ICU for 7 days.. Luckily we have gotten the synagis shots every year since then.. Please get your kids checked out asap, and observe them very cafefully..
A nose swab is the best way to diagnois, insist they be tested. Also broncholitis is another serious infection which may or may not accompany RSV.

Good Luck..
Lisa mom to Melanie(23)
Guillermo,Jonathan,William (2 yrs old)

Lisa mom to Melanie(28)
Guillermo,Jonathan,William(10.9.01 @34 weeks)

I think a nose swab is the only definitive way to know. Gavin had it a few weeks ago. He woke on a Sunday w/ a runny nose. On Monday he was congested so we went to the dr. They said he had bronciolitis. On Wednesday he woke up wheezing so I took him back to the dr. He still had bronciolitis, but the dr was concerned about the wheezing so he ordered chest x-rays and a nose swab to test for RSV. He ordered a nebulizer for us and we did breathing treatments w/ albuterol. The dr didn't know, but the place we went for the RSV test takes 5-7 days to have the results. By the time we knew he had it, he was all better.
Garret and Claire also got sick, but they didn't wheeze and never had a test to see if it was RSV. However, I went ahead and gave them breathing treatments too so they may have gotten to the wheezing point if I hadn't.
I thank God that I made it to 36+ weeks b/c they were healthy enough to fight it off pretty quick. I don't know what it would have been like if they were more premature.

luvmytrio
Gavin, Garret & Claire
born 8/7/03 at 36w4d

luvmytrio
Gavin, Garret & Claire
born 8/7/03 at 36w4d

Luvmytrio,

I've always been amazed at how long you have gone with your pregnancy. All I have to say is "WOW". I can't imagine having to wait another 2+ weeks to deliver. You're my hero.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did your children weigh at birth?

Cristina
Proud mommy to Daniela, Bobby and Vanessa
Born June 28, 2003 - The best day of my life!!!

Cristina
Proud mommy to Daniela, Bobby and Vanessa
Born June 28, 2003 - The best day of my life!!!

Thanks Cristina - I do feel "proud" of myself for making it that far although I also feel that all HOM moms have little control over how long they make it. I had a lot of people praying for me - that along with drinking tons of water and taking it easy are what helped me make it that far.

Gavin was 4.10, Garret was 5.8 & Claire was 5.15. At 4 mos they were up to 13.13, 16.13 & 16.15. They are 5 mos now and I'm guessing Garret and Claire are over 20. I think I may have the biggest triplets in the universe - LOL. I'm 5'10" and about 220. DH is 6'5" and about 200 - they have no choice but to be huge.

OK - one little question and I go on and on about my babies

luvmytrio
Gavin, Garret & Claire
born 8/7/03 at 36w4d

luvmytrio
Gavin, Garret & Claire
born 8/7/03 at 36w4d

Two of my older children were hospitalized with RSV as infants...one at 8 weeks and one at 5 months. I was told that there really is no difference in how it is treated also, but the things to watch for have pretty much been said. . . the wheezing and tight breathing is a big one. It appeared to me to be the same as my daughter's asthma episodes. The only thing I can add is that with RSV I think the snot(IS there a good word for that??) is often a greenish color and sorta stickyish...I know thats gross, but can't figure out a better way to say it.
Hope your babies feel better soon

Jodi
Wife to Greg
Mama to Cameron(7) Alexis(4) Rylee(2)
Stepmama to Ashleigh(8) and Jeremy(2)
And mama to Victoria Rayne, Jenna Louise, and Brittany Lynn born 03-20-03 at 25 weeks 4 days
WOW MY GIRLS ARE A YEAR OLD!

If you are worried about how a baby is breathing, lift up their onsie and look at the tummy/chest; a baby that is struggling will appear to be "sucking" in his/her ribs...i.e., you can see the outline of the ribs. Also, sometimes young babies will flare their nostrils and/or grunt when they are having trouble breathing. Of course, a blue tinge around the lips is also a serious sign.

The main thing is, if you are worried, day or night, do not hesitate to call the doc or go to the ER; no-one will ever criticize you for being a concerned parent...that is a GOOD trait to have!

Mom of a princess, age six, and two princes, age 4

there's a blood test that can tell them definitively if it's RSV.Generally, though the symptoms you are describing plus very thick, sticky ,hard to suction mucus is the tip-off.

Korrie~
^i^B/G/G 24 w 3d,1/17/00
B 10/31/01
B 1/27/03

<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="" alt="Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a>

When our son was somewhere around 6 - 8 weeks old he caught a cold from our 3 year old son. We were so worried about our 3 year old because he had such a scarey time with RSV, breathing treatments, etc. from when he was 6 months old that we didn't notice the little signs creeping up on our infant that was sick.
He had the runny nose and little cough. (how strange it is to hear such a tiny baby cough!) Anyway, when we went to the doc for our 3 year old to see if he needed oral steroids or neb treatment, the doctor tested our teeny tiny guy and he had RSV! I felt terrible because I didn't pick up on the signs. He didn't have green ookies or a tight cough. His symptoms were elevated breathing rate and a stridor sound when he was breathing. He was such a fussy little guy anyway with feeding issues and colic that we chalked it up to that. Anyway, they both had neb treatments and we didn't have any further problems with our little one. Hope this helps you. Symptoms can vary from baby to baby. Wash those hands!!!! (especially when going from baby to baby)

THANK YOU for your post.

We had Dylan at the emergency for the third time since he was born. (He's six months old.) Our doctor says his problem is viral, and I wondering if it is RSV. We live in Qatar and our doctor is from Iraq, so who knows if we share the same names for things. Anyway, yesterday was AWFUL, but Dyl is home now and doing okay, but we do have him sleeping in our room. I didn't realize there was a test they can do, but I will ask about it TODAY. I need to know! It is so scary. The other three kids were all sick and Dylan was the only one who ws fine, then the others were better and BLAM, he got this again. (The other boys had regular old colds.)

Let me know what happens with yours!
Ali

Jack - 10 years old
Abraham, Dylan and Zane - 8 years
and now . . . . Tobias, 2 years old!