Saturday, November 1, 2008

RSV Explanation

I found some info and pics of the RSV that we are so worried about our babies getting this winter. It helps explains why we have to be so careful of who comes over and so strict with the ages that are allowed. It's a pretty scary infection for any baby but especially for premies! I didn't even realize quite how yucky it is, the pictures say a lot too!

Because our babies are preemies their lungs are still underdeveloped & they have a compromised immune system. This is very important to know b/c RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) which to us or a full-term baby, would not do anything more than just give us a cough & a runny nose, much like the common cold. For our babies, it can mean death.

Why? Our babies lungs look very different from that of a baby the same age that was born after 37 weeks gestation. Let me show you a picture of what our babies' lungs look like compared to that of a regular full-term baby. The 1st 3 pictures are that of our babies' lungs (not actual idea). The 4th picture is that of a regular baby. Scary to see how much less our babies have compared to them!



This is another good picture to look at. As you can see, they used trees to explain the difference between a normal infant's lungs (left) & a preemie's (right). WOW!







Once RSV has been passed to one of our babies, hospital stay is a certainty. Actually, they would probably end up in the PICU (Pediatric ICU). There is NOTHING they can do to help our babies except to give them O2 to help them breathe. Again, something we don't want to experience.How do we keep our babies healthy? By staying away from sick people! RSV is contracted through physical contact or vapor droplets in the air.

5 comments:

Mrs. MK said...

Mom was telling me about this!! How scary! We all thought that the time of hyper-concern was past....I guess this will just keep us all praying, and us all on echinacea+vitC!

Can I bring you dinner this week? I don't want to come in....just bring by some soup?

We missed you so much today....but you are always in our prayers and thoughts! We can't wait to have the full crew together and healthy....but we can try to be patient, as long as that keeps them healthy!

LOVE, PRAYERS and HUGS!

Dawn Coleman said...

Hi There! This is Nellie's sister-in-law Dawn - you might remember me from the wedding... I have been checking your blog and first wanted to say congratulations! Your babies are beautiful and I will keep you both in my prayers for strength for the task and health for your family! What an amazing miracle they are! I'm so sorry to hear about your grandma too.
I wanted to let you know (not to be paranoid) but I know of at least 2 moms whose babies picked up RSV at the doctors office during their well-child visits. It's just unfortunate that docs don't do housecalls anymore! You probably are already aware of this but just wanted to let you know. When I was a new mom I didn't realize how treacherous the dr's office would be for germs!
I will pray for your family's health!!

Tasha said...

Thanks Katie! We would appriciate a meal very much! I will give you a call tomorrow to catch up! I don't seem to have much phone time anymore with these kiddos. :)

Tasha said...

Hi Dawn! Thanks for the advice! My mom was VERY worried about the drs office visits too. Our pediatrician is SO awesome though and we have a standing orders to come in the office and go right into the room they have waiting for us. I thought that was so nice and hopefully will make a big difference. It is scary all the stuff out there any baby can get! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, we need em! :)

Mrs. G said...

Hey, Tasha... Sorry I got sick and can't help!!!! I miss you guys and the babies so much. I slept almost 12 hours last night and am taking vitamins like CRAZY so I can get back out there to help you! Hopefully I'll get over this sickness REALLY soon!