Call your child's health care provider if your child: seems sick, shows signs of RSV and is less than 6 months of age or at high risk. has thick mucus from the nose or mouth that is yellow, green or gray.
In mild cases of RSV, inflammation is limited to the upper respiratory tract (the nose and throat), most significantly causing a runny nose and nasal congestion. “The hallmark of RSV is that it causes a lot of mucus production that causes you to blow your nose more frequently,” Dr. Dias says.
Strained breathing, high fever, thick nasal discharge, and a worsening cough that produces yellow, green, or gray mucus are all signs of a worsening or severe illness. “RSV symptoms can lead to more serious illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. Call your doctor immediately if symptoms escalate,” advises Dr.
RSV is a virus that causes a miserable cold with thick mucus and a cough that can easily last a month. You can get the infection at any age and more than once in your lifetime. It tends to be particularly tough on babies and toddlers because the worst episode of RSV is usually the first time you catch the germ.
Symptoms of RSV are usually common cold symptoms: cough, runny nose. The difference is the runny nose is going to be significantly mucusy, copious amounts of mucus. You can get some redness of the eyes, coughing, sore, scratchy throat.
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.
Both rRT-PCR and antigen detection tests are effective methods for diagnosing RSV infection in infants and young children. The RSV sensitivity of antigen detection tests generally ranges from 80% to 90% in this age group.
When to Call the Health Care Provider. Call your child's health care provider if your child: seems sick, shows signs of RSV and is less than 6 months of age or at high risk. has thick mucus from the nose or mouth that is yellow, green or gray.
In adults and older children, RSV usually causes mild cold-like signs and symptoms. These may include: Congested or runny nose. Dry cough.
Rapid breathing at a rate of over 40 breaths per minute. Tight breathing (having to work hard to push air out). Coughing (may cough up very sticky mucus). Fever and a runny nose often start before the breathing problems.
A sick baby's symptoms might, unfortunately, get worse at night—especially their cough, warns Ashanti Woods, MD, a pediatrician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. “Many babies will have disturbed sleep, especially in the first few days of an RSV infection,” he explains.
RSV symptoms peak around day 5 of the illness and often improve at 7–10 days. However, the cough may linger for about 4 weeks due to the slow recovery of the ciliated cells.
Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults.
The acute phase of RSV generally lasts for about a week, with the worst symptoms coming at around the third and fourth days, then gradually improving. The cough may last for weeks. Children are thought to be contagious for 5-8 days, but some children can infect others for as long as a month.
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.
As well as pneumonia, which is infection of the lungs, RSV can cause bronchiolitis, which is inflammation of the small airways in the lung. The virus typically does not cause diarrhea, but may cause vomiting if there is a lot of mucus, says Afghani.
The virus lives inside the cells lining the respiratory system, causing swelling of this lining coupled with the production of large amounts of excess mucus. In adults, this shows up as a bad, lingering cold with thick nasal congestion and a deep, productive cough.
Some children with RSV may be at increased risk of developing a bacterial infection, such as an ear infection. Call your doctor if your child has: Symptoms that worsen or do not start to improve after 7 days. A fever (with a rectal temperature of 100.4°F or higher) and they are younger than 3 months of age (12 weeks).
With similar symptoms for all three infections, this comprehensive test helps you determine your COVID-19, flu, and RSV status with one short swab. It's easy. We'll send you an at-home collection kit to collect your nasal swab sample.
RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, such as runny nose, decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing.
The onset of RSV can look much like that of an average cold or flu—early symptoms include a congested or runny nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat and a fever.
Stay home from work or school when sick, until symptoms subside. If you have very young children or elderly adults at home, including a child who was born 29 weeks or earlier or a child or adult with congenial lung disease, try to keep them isolated from family members who develop respiratory viruses or symptoms.
People infected with RSV are usually contagious for 3 to 8 days and may become contagious a day or two before they start showing signs of illness. However, some infants, and people with weakened immune systems, can continue to spread the virus even after they stop showing symptoms, for as long as 4 weeks.