What is RSV? Respiratory Syncytial Virus Symptoms, Severity in Children and More
In our practice, we had a record number of babies born in December, more than any other month of 2022! The hope of every mom and dad is to make sure baby has all the love and care they need and that they stay healthy. So it’s not surprising that new parents might be a little nervous for their new child with all the sniffling and coughing they may have been hearing going around this time of year. Late fall to early spring are often when we see the most cases of colds, flus, croup and other respiratory illnesses including RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
It’s likely that every parent has heard of RSV. While we don’t want our children coming down with any illness, RSV may have parents the most worried because of the complications that can come with it. As Pediatric and Family Chiropractors we’re going to dig into and help you do all you can for your child to prevent and overcome RSV and other respiratory and immune challenges!
What is RSV?
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that causes infections of the lung and respiratory tract. RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
Most patients recover in one to two weeks, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and immunocompromised adults. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
RSV is one of many viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses, which are illnesses or infection of the nose, throat and lungs. Typically it’s most common from late fall to early spring, when stress levels are up, families are inside more (less Vitamin D, less movement, etc.) and immune systems are less resilient and responsive.
That is why it’s likely we’re seeing such an increase in the cases of RSV recently, as the past 2-3 years saw a lot more staying inside, high stress, and avoiding other germs and pathogens that would actually serve to help strengthen and build resilience in a child’s immune system.
Almost all children will get RSV at least once before age 2, but very few end up with an illness bad enough to become hospitalized and get the official diagnosis.
What are the symptoms of RSV?
It is well known that for many cases, the symptoms may take 4-6 days to appear after getting exposed and infected. RSV spreads very similarly to the common cold and shares many of the same symptoms. Common symptoms include:
Congested or runny nose
Decrease in appetite
Coughing
Sneezing
Fever
Wheezing
Sore throat
Poor feeding
In severe cases, RSV can spread to the lower respiratory tract and cause other conditions such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and even pneumonia. The list of symptoms to watch for here may include:
Short, fast, shallow breathing
Belly breathing or even retractions (when a baby must use muscles in the neck or between the ribs to breathe)
Flaring of the nostrils or rhythmic grunting while breathing
Major fatigue, exhaustion and lethargy (not very responsive at all)
How is RSV diagnosed?
While there is a laboratory and nasal swab test to confirm an RSV diagnosis, like most pediatric conditions, doctors just make the diagnosis by asking about the symptoms and doing a simple physical exam to check for the things listed above. The doctor may also order a chest x-ray and oxygen saturation test to look for further signs of congestion, inflammation and infection.
What causes RSV?
Most doctors, articles and information will only discuss how cold and RSV viruses are spread (transmission) from one person to another. The truth is, that is quite simple knowledge and information we already know that doesn’t really dive deep into what we need to know in order to determine if our child is at risk or not.
Obviously like all viruses and pathogens, RSV can enter your child’s body through someone sneezing or coughing, through physical touch from dirty hands or surfaces, etc. But what happens next, when that virus gets into the body? Is your child’s respiratory and immune system prepared enough to fight it off and get rid of it or is it sure to cause an infection every time?
Why is it that some kids can be exposed to viruses and germs all the time in the home, daycare or school and not ever get sick…and some kids get sick at the mere mention of a virus? Is it truly just good or bad luck based on genetics? No, there is much more to this story parents, and you deserve to know it all.
Seed or Soil? Which Matters Most?
While still today most parents are led to believe that germs, viruses and bacteria alone are what cause illness (the “seed”), there is so much more to it.
Yes, it’s true that especially for infants and young children their immune systems, digestive systems and nervous systems are still developing and maturing… it’s not as if they have no defense at all. A child’s innate intelligence is far more advanced than that and it certainly takes into account the presence of viruses and bacteria all throughout an infant’s world.
In the metaphorical question posed above, the soil is the child’s internal defense system - which is made up primarily of four major individual systems that all work together to keep us healthy. Those key systems are:
The Nervous System
The Respiratory System
The Immune System
The Digestive System (Gut)
We list the nervous system first very intentionally, and what we know today is that it’s the job of the nervous system to control, regulate and modulate all of those other systems (along with many others). The nervous system is like the foundation of a house, vitally important to the integrity of the house. Therefore, if a child’s nervous system is stressed and not functioning properly, a condition known as dysautonomia, then the other three key systems are compromised and can start to experience dysfunction in the following ways:
Decreased respiratory motility or movement - not being able to keep viruses like RSV from moving through and getting cleared out of the nose, throat, airway or lungs
Decreased immune responsiveness and increases or excessive mucus production, inflammatory response and more
Decreased digestive motility or movement - working just like the respiratory system, where viruses and germs can’t be eliminated and removed from the body efficiently
When you’re looking to keep your child healthy or get their health restored when sick, always be sure to look at the nervous system. If it’s overly stressed and out of balance, or subluxated, it’s likely that those other key systems will struggle as well.
Who is at high risk for RSV?
Premature infants
Children who experienced birth intervention and trauma (forceps, vacuum, induction, c-section, etc.)
Very young infants (6 months and younger)
Children younger than 2 years old with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease
Children with weakened immune systems
Children who have neurological or neuromuscular disorders, including those with difficulty swallowing or clearing mucus secretions
While the link between premature birth and higher risk to younger children has long been known, the connection and correlation to birth trauma and the overuse of antibiotics is what we see again and again in our office and more and more research is coming out each year taking a look at those connections.
How to care for RSV?
There is no specific medical treatment for RSV and commonly used drugs like steroids and antibiotics do not help with an RSV infection.
What you can do however is help your child be as comfortable as possible and then look to strengthen the function of their neuro-immune system, improve drainage and movement of mucus and congestion out of the body and encourage rest as much as possible. This could look like the following things:
Using a nasal saline or gentle suctioning
Using a cool-mist humidifier
Encouraging additional rest and sleep
Encouraging frequent feeding and fluids (staying hydrated is absolutely key)
Adding in healthy foods and adding in immune-boosting, pathogen-fighting vitamins, supplements, herbs and essential oils (“Nature’s Medicine Cabinet”)
Getting your child under chiropractic care or adding a “boost” adjustment if they already are
While that last bullet point is not something as easily or commonly found on a shelf at your local pharmacy or health food store, it’s the one that is an absolute game-changer for millions of children who are under regular chiropractic care.
The adjustments not only remove those stuck, trouble-causing subluxations in the short term, but they can also handle dysautonomia and more long-standing neurological challenges that may be underlying the frequent colds, congestion and respiratory infections.
The most important thing to focus on with RSV is prevention. If your child is very young or has the added risk factors listed above such as premature birth, extended NICU stay, birth trauma or frequent use of antibiotics and steroids, then be sure to follow the proactive and resilience-building steps listed in the last section as best you can!
RSV - What are the next steps?
For far too long parents have been told the best prevention they have is to frequently wash their hands, kill every germ they can in the household (think Super Soaker full of Purell) and avoid family and friends each and every winter…that’s not the kind of life that will lead to any sort of true health and happiness for you or your child.
Instead, take this head-on! In addition to having an incredible, integrative and holistic-minded pediatrician, make sure you have a trained and experienced Pediatric Chiropractor on your family’s healthcare team.
Not only will they be able to make those incredible adjustments and provide neurologically-focused, drug-free care for your child and family, but they can help guide you into all the additional ways you can use natural, resilience-building health and wellness strategies in your day-to-day life!
Again and again, we find that when so many other kids are getting sick and stressed, our “chiro kids” stay strong, stay healthy and don’t miss a beat!
If you need to get your child back on track after a bout of RSV or other respiratory challenges, or if you’re reading this article ahead of time and want to stay ahead of things and focus on prevention, go book your initial exam with our office today!
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