RSV and Daycare

Two weeks ago my three month old niece was in the hospital suffering from RSV.

RSV is short for Respiratory Syncytial Virus.  It affects the lungs and breathing passages.  My niece was struggling to breathe so she had to be taken to the hospital.  Little did anyone know she would be there until the end of the week.  Just think about a little three month old with an IV in her arm and a tube up her nose.  A board was put on her arm to keep the IV in place.  She'd raise her arm and it would just irritate her.  She finally learned how to grab the tube and pull it out of her nose.

Anyway, this post isn't about sympathy for my niece (but you can feel sympathetic if you want, totally allowed).  My niece got sick at daycare.  Daycare is a good place to get sick.  Yeah, you're going to get the common cold, blah, blah, blah.  You expect that.  Whatever.  You don't want it, but being with other children every day it's going to happen.  What you don't expect is this.

There is only one person to blame in the entire daycare for this.  The daycare workers informed parents a case of RSV was going through the daycare and one woman was flippant about it saying her son already went through that a few weeks ago.

Her son already went through it a few weeks ago.

She still took him to daycare.

He went to daycare while he was sick.  With RSV.

He's the one who gave it to not just my niece but other babies.  I don't know anything about the other babies, but my niece had to go to the hospital.  The next week my mom babysat her instead of sending her to daycare so she could get better.

Asthma runs in my family (or should I say doesn't run, haha, roll eyes).  My mom has it and my brother, the baby's father, has it.  Could my niece have it?  Possibly.  Could it have been exacerbated by RSV?  Possibly. I don't know.  I'm not a doctor.  I have a degree in English.  We don't study how those things work.

This lady put my niece in danger and not just my niece but other babies as well.  It was for her selfish gain so she could keep her child in daycare while she went to work.  It affects her baby as well.  The baby should be at home where he can get the proper attention and rest to get better.  It hurts him, too, but I'm guessing she doesn't realize that.

I get the argument that maybe she can't miss work or whatever, but this isn't just the common cold.  This is RSV.  How to prevent RSV?  Aside from washing hands and such, keep children who are suffering from it away from other children.  Do not socialize when you are sick!  Common sense, people!

The ones getting sick this time were babies.  Babies have weaker immune systems.  They don't handle illnesses the way older people do.  They need more care and attention.

If your child is sick DO NOT TAKE THEM TO DAYCARE!  Stay home with him or her.  Get a baby-sitter.  Ask a relative or a neighbor to watch the child.  Don't put other people at risk because you won't miss a day of work.  Don't put your child at risk by not keeping him or her at home to get better.  Yes, one of the best recipes for treating an illness is to stay home and rest.  Why don't people get that?