RSV- Nothing To Take Lightly
Thank God, my grandaughter Sarah is better. She spent the eleventh week of her life at Children’s Hospital recovering from RSV. I didn’t know a lot about RSV then. I do now. It’s a nasty bug that can make children pitifully sick. Here’s what the Centers For Disease Control’s Infectious Disease People say about it on its website:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age. Illness begins most frequently with fever, runny nose, cough, and sometimes wheezing. During their first RSV infection, between 25% and 40% of infants and young children have signs or symptoms of bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and 0.5% to 2% require hospitalization. Most children recover from illness in 8 to 15 days. The majority of children hospitalized for RSV infection are under 6 months of age. RSV also causes repeated infections throughout life, usually associated with moderate-to-severe cold-like symptoms; however, severe lower respiratory tract disease may occur at any age, especially among the elderly or among those with compromised cardiac, pulmonary, or immune systems.
Sarah was very, very sick. The people at Children’s- all of them -were exceptional in their care. And I don’t see how they do it- it’s tough to listen to the little hoarse cries of a sick child. As I have said before, I’ve seen some pretty tough things in my life. But I still can hardly stand to see a suffering child. Sarah is improving and will probably be succeptable to colds for a while. I understand there is a kind of vaccine available for RSV, but it’s expensive. I wonder if the insurance company executives get it for their children.
This week, I have been struggling through some kind of crud, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a form of RSV. Maybe FGRSV..Fat Guy RSV. And I wonder if one of a zillion tiny little coughs somewhere passed it along to me. It’s nothing glamorous..just a snotty nose, congestion and all kinds of misery. Hallerin and I have considered buying one of those little teapot instruments to pour some hot poltice into our noses. I don’t know about you, but a teapot spout up my nose is a little more than I need right now.
I used about a quart of Afrin. Have you ever calculated the cost of Afrin per gallon? I did. Let’s say you buy the generic, or get the real deal on sale for five dollars per ounce. There are 128 ounces in a gallon. That makes Afrin figure up to a whopping $640 dollars an ounce. Along with that,I invested in a saline spray that is half the price of nasal decongestant. It doesn’t make me feel any better that salt water in a plastic bottle sells for $320 dollars an ounce. And I just got a prescription for some stuff that will cost ME $20 for a half-ounce, and no telling what the insurance company pays per gallon. Plus, I got another prescription that would cost around a hundred bucks if I didn’t have good insurance.
At the doctor’s office today, I heard that a lot of people are dealing with the same thing. They have also probably bought a hundred bucks worth of over-the-counter nostrums…just like I did before I decided to give in and as they say in the TV commercial “consult my healthcare professional” and get some stuff that works.
The nurses also said a couple of people came in with the real flu today. Lots of people think they have the flu. But unless you feel like you have been run over by a manure truck, kicked in the belly by a linebacker, and force fed a live weasel- trust me, it ain’t the flu.
My advice to you grown ups who think you can lick most any illness with over the counter stuff..listen to the Viagra commercial. Use the four-hour rule. If your crud lasts four hours or longer…see your “health care professional”.
