Its the season of illness and for many tri-state parents, they're dealing with something other than the flu and common cold. Doctors say Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV is on the rise in Evansville, anyone can contract the virus but for young children the effects can be a lot more serious. Congestion, coughing, difficulty breathing and sometimes seizures, these are some symptoms of RSV. Its typically worse for babies under a year old and for some they're needing overnight stays in the hospital, like 16 month old Samuel Oakley, diagnosed this week with RSV. For mom Amber Oakley, she thought her son missed the window to get the virus, "We were a little surprised, he was gonna be admitted, just figured it was gonna be a breathing treatment and go home, not that big of a deal so to have to stay at the hospital with him was different for us, we never had to experience that before," she says. In Saint Mary's Pediatric Unit, RSV cases are common, admitting close to six children a day as opposed to almost none this time last year. Doctor Wendy Woodard tells us, "The younger children especially the infants are the most affected by it and have the most severe disease." Dr. Woodard says babies are the most at risk and RSV can be very mild in older kids and adults it can cause cold-like symptoms in them but in younger kids whose immune systems haven't seen it before and who have smaller airways are more prone to getting sever disease and those children often end up in the hospital. For a restless toddler, an isolated hospital room is the last place to be, but Oakley says Samuel's near future will remain indoors saying "You want to go out and you've got your shopping and stuff you want to do but really the safest place for them is going to be at home, just try and not expose them to anything you don't have to." Oakley urges parents to do the same. Prevention is the best method, doctors want parents to keep young ones indoors, wash your child's hands and anyone who comes in contact with them, and of course keeping sick people away as well. If the coughing, congestion and poor breathing continues you may need to see a doctor. There isn't a cure for RSV just support, doctors say the body must work through the virus by itself but breathing treatments and providing fluids are available at hospitals and can help your child improve.
