RSV Awareness (Help Keep Lungs Safe)

This is part of a sponsored collaboration with AstraZeneca and DiMe Media. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Hi Loves!

As much of you know I have two children and what I am going to share with you today is such a serious subject that I am all too familiar with. October is RSV awareness month and I want to share with you all keys to preventing your little one from getting this virus.

If you don’t know what RSV it is Respiratory Syncical Virus (RSV), a common seasonal virus that spreads between November and March, is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies in their first year of life. RSV Awareness month in October is a perfect time to educate ourselves, our friends, and our family about RSV and severe RSV disease. Premature babies are particularly at risk for developing severe RSV disease due to their underdeveloped lungs.

I am very familiar with this virus because at the tender age of 3 weeks my son Ayden contracted the virus from his older sister who at the time was my only child attending daycare. If you can only imagine the fear, I had taking my 3 week old to the emergency room and being told he has RSV and having to stay for a whole week because he could not eat on his own. The thought of it makes me scared all over again. People do not realize how tiny and fragile baby’s lungs are and though I am a mother that is very careful and washes things, my son still got it. My son is now almost 10 months and what would be a normal cold for one child turns into a horrible few cough and time under a nebulizer for my son. Like I said I am such a careful mom but it happened to our family. My son is so sensitive and gets sick all the time because of RSV, so I hope this educates you guys to be smart with your little ones especially during this time of year.

The first step to preventing your child from getting RSV is educating yourself. RSVProtection.com educates parents on how to eliminate or minimize risk factors, helping prevent RSV from impacting families and their little lungs.

Some great tips are…

· Wash your hands thoroughly before touching your baby, and ask others to do the same

· Keep your baby away from crowds and young children, as well as people with colds

· Wash your baby’s toys, clothes and bedding often

· Don’t let anyone smoke in your home or near your baby

· Tobacco smoke irritates babies’ airways. It affects the growth of their lungs. While all babies can be harmed by tobacco smoke, premature babies are especially prone to lung problems when they leave the nursery