Experts recommend staying home for 8 days from the time you first get sick. It's likely that if one person in your home is sick, others will be sick soon, too. If possible, consider keeping everyone home to limit the spread of RSV to others. Limit your time in public places.
Parents and other adults can easily infect young children with RSV. Because RSV symptoms resemble those of the common cold (runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, and sometimes a fever), parents and other adults may not realize they are infected with the virus but can still be contagious.
If it's the flu, your doctor may prescribe oseltamivir, a medication approved for flu treatment in children 2 weeks of age and older. Whether it's the flu, COVID-19, or RSV, you should keep your child home to recover and prevent others around your child from getting sick.
Should I stay home from work or school or keep my child out of childcare with an RSV infection? To prevent the spread of illness, adults and children should stay home from work, school and/or childcare with a fever or upper respiratory symptoms such as a cough.
Similar to precautions someone would take if they had the flu or COVID-19, people with RSV are contagious and should stay home and away from other people to avoid spreading the virus.
Unfortunately, yes. "Adults can absolutely get RSV from kids," Dr. Fisher said.
To prevent nosocomial spread, infants and young children with suspected RSV infection should be placed on contact isolation.
If my child has this disease, when can he or she return to school or child care? A child with RSV can return after it has been 8 days since symptoms started.
Manage fever and pain with over-the-counter fever reducers and pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. (Never give aspirin to children.) Drink enough fluids. It is important for people with RSV infection to drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration (loss of body fluids).
If they have RSV or even if a health care provider suspects it is RSV even with no testing done, children can go back to school or daycare once they are starting to feel better and they have no fever for 24 hours. There is no test needed for RSV for patients to return to daycare.
Ideally, people with cold-like symptoms should not interact with children at high risk for severe RSV disease, including premature infants, children younger than 2 years of age with chronic lung or heart conditions, children with weakened immune systems, or children with neuromuscular disorders.
Usually 3-7 days. Typically, days 3-4 are the worst. Babies can go back to daycare when they aren't requiring additional help (extra suctioning, breathing treatments, small frequent feeds) and are fever-free for 24 hours. Questions?
You should exclude until the child has no fever and can tolerate normal activities. Share with parents if RSV has been diagnosed in their child's group. Explain the importance of careful and frequent hand washing. Share the signs and symptoms of RSV and how it is spreads.
People with RSV are usually contagious for three to eight days. They can be contagious a day or two before they show symptoms. Babies and people with weakened immune systems (immunocompromised) who get the virus can spread it for up to a month.
When people infected with RSV touch surfaces and objects, they can leave behind germs. Also, when they cough or sneeze, droplets containing germs can land on surfaces and objects. If possible, stay home from work, school, and public areas when you are sick. This will help protect others from catching your illness.
Usually, as an adult, when you become ill with RSV you have mild cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough and a headache. But sometimes, and for some people, you can become so ill you need to be hospitalized. And each year in the United States thousands of older adults die of complications from RSV.
If my child has RSV, how long will he or she be contagious? After being exposed to the virus, symptoms may not appear for four to six days. An individual with RSV is usually contagious for three to eight days, although this may be longer in younger children.
RSV is very contagious. It can spread through the droplets released into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or if you touch a contaminated surface, such as counters or doorknobs (where it can live for hours). It can also spread through direct contact (kissing the face of a child with RSV, for example).
Initial signs of RSV are similar to mild cold symptoms, including congestion, runny nose, fever, cough and sore throat. Very young infants may be irritable, fatigued and have breathing difficulties. Normally these symptoms will clear up on their own in a few days.
The flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all highly contagious respiratory infections caused by viruses: The flu by influenza virus, COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 virus, and RSV by respiratory syncytial virus. It is possible for a person to be infected with multiple viruses at the same time.
Children with RSV typically have two to four days of upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as fever and runny nose/congestion. These are then followed by lower respiratory tract symptoms, like increasing wheezing cough that sounds wet and forceful with increased work breathing.
Many say the uptick in cases is likely because people weren't exposed much in the past two years with masking and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's some information for parents to help protect children from RSV and to know the first signs of severe infection.
For the majority of children with RSV, symptoms can be successfully managed at home.