Pediatrics. Like every year, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the cause of bronchiolitis, is doing its thing in Reunion.
Pediatrics. Like every year, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the cause of bronchiolitis, is doing its thing in Reunion. Visits to the emergency room for babies under 2 years old due to bronchiolitis have doubled in one week. One in two passages resulted in hospitalization. Bronchiolitis is a highly contagious viral respiratory disease, which mainly affects children under 2 years old.
The virus is transmitted mainly by saliva, sneezing, coughing, material soiled by a person with a cold and by the hands. So, a case of a cold in the family can cause bronchiolitis in an infant. Like any viral disease, bronchiolitis heals spontaneously after 5 to 10 days, but the cough can persist for 2 to 4 weeks. In toddlers under 1 year old, the virus can cause a more serious form.
Prevention is better than cure, and prevention is all the more simple since after two years of Covid-19, all Reunionese are experienced in barrier gestures: systematically wash their hands with soap and water for 30 seconds before taking care of baby, avoid putting babies in contact with people with colds, regularly clean the objects with which they come into contact (bottles, pacifiers, games, “cuddly toys”…), regularly air the house and especially the baby’s room. And wear a mask if you have a cold yourself, obviously avoiding hugs, except on the soles of your feet.
Mireille Legait
FIGURE
61
This is the number of emergency visits last week against 31 in the previous week.
Sources ARS Reunion
7 gestures to know
1. Clean your nose with saline.
2. Avoid being in the house, whether baby is there or not.
3. Give him water regularly.
4. Lay him flat on his back.
5. Slightly raise the legs of the bed to head level.
6. Consult the doctor in case of difficulty breathing and difficulty eating.
7. Call 15 in case of respiratory distress.