Help... RSV in 23 Month Old

My son was hospitalized with RSV at 9 months, and for about a year we had issues with his breathing every time he got a cold. He did grow out of it after about a year and we have had no problems since, he is now 4. My Nephew had RSV very badly, was in ICU for 2 weeks and almost died. He has so mush scar tissue in his lungs he will always have asthma as a result, and has trouble when he is sick, or even if it is dusty or smoky outside. So it really depends on the severity of the case and the amount of damage done to the lungs.

RSV damages the lungs like having pneumonia does. It makes you more susceptible to illnesses and especially other kinds of lung infections. It takes a while, many months to a few years, for a child's lungs to fully get back to normal. Talk to your pediatrician about changing medications, treatment strategies for when he does get a cold and any possible things you can do to help keep colds from turning into breathing problems. Other than that, I would re-think starting preschool on Monday. If your son was already gettting sick a ton in a small home daycare, it's going to be infinitely worse in a preschool classroom with more kids and (most likely) less strict rules on illnesses, less cleaning of toys. I am a big believer in preschool, but I don't see any reason to rush your not quite 2 year old into it when his health is at stake. If you possibly can, I would suggest keeping him in a smaller setting for at least another year or 2 to give him a chance to built up the strength to handle all the new germs a larger childcare setting will have. Good luck!

I'm not sure that RSV is the culprit here. My first son has very similar issues as you described - every time he gets even a minor cold, it goes straight to his chest. As a result our pediatrician prescribed Xopenex and a nebulizer and we are to use it at the first sign of a cold as a preventitive measure (so it won't go to his chest). Our dr said that some kids just have these type of problems. BTW - my first son never had RSV.

My second son had RSV at either 5 or 9 weeks (can't remember if it was just after his first or second month well visit). He is currently just over 6 months and has been healthy as an ox so far *fingers crossed*.

I think, for some reason, some kids are just more prone to getting sick then others.

Hi, My oldest was hospitalized with RSV at 5 months old. After that, she got sick ALL the time for the next 3 years. She was pretty much on a nebulizer all winter it seemed. Then, when she started preschool at age 3, it got a little better, and has continued to improve. Now at age 5, she can actually fight off a cold without it going into wheezing, and she only had a few cold this year. The doctor told me that the RSV would likely lead to asthma, but that most kids outgrow it, which seems to be our situation. Good luck! If it continues, you might want to see a pediatric pulmonologist. They helped us greatly.

Both my sons had it off and on from the time they were about 6 months old and like you said continuously got sick. My oldest is almost 4 and since he was about 2, he has not had it. My 18 month old just got over the worst period of being sick all the time about 4 months ago after having to use the nebulizer every day.
It seemed like every other week he was sick. I wouldn't worry about preschool, he will still get sick, but it should get better as he gets older and his immune system builds up tolerance.