Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health
Important information new parents need to know about Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV. It comes around when the weather gets cold, and it is dangerous for our youngest children – infants up to 8-months and toddlers born with certain risk factors. Even more because before now, doctors could not prevent it. They could only treat the symptoms.
“We use nasal suctioning with saline. We use oxygen, you know, supplemental oxygen when we need it. Because the babies are struggling to get enough fluids in because breathing is more important than eating, so that we have to do IV fluids for them and just this supportive care, even to the point that we're sometimes intubating and using ventilatory care.”
Dr. Dustin Wise oversees Intermountain Health's pediatric clinics in Utah County, and he’s ready to see fewer infants and toddlers suffering from the more severe effects of RSV. It an be an ordeal, sometimes involves hospitalization, and in some cases…it it’s a killer. Now, it could be far less dangerous.
“I think this is a game changer. This allows us to hopefully keep babies at home with their moms. They may get a little bit sick with RSV. They may get RSV still, but they won't get as sick with RSV,” said Wise.
He’s talking about Nirsevimab. It’s not a vaccine. It’s a monoclonal antibody that boosts your child’s natural defenses. The only catch is it comes as a shot but,
“Think about how many shots you give if they do get really, really sick, “said Wise. “They're getting multiple shots and multiple other treatments and multiple different things. This helps their body to just respond naturally to this RSV, to this virus, is going to be around regardless, and it helps their body to fight it off without becoming overly sick.”
Dr. Wise hopes a parent who hears this message will talk to their child’s doctor.
“Pediatricians are nice people, you know, they're not going to steer you wrong. And so talk to your pediatrician and we have this in each of our Intermountain clinics throughout this the state and Utah County,” said Wise.
Nirsevimab is for children 8-months and younger, and children 8-19 months who are at risk for a severe case of RSV. Children whose mothers got the RSV shot while pregnant may not need Nirsevimab because the mother passes on that immunity.
