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Treating Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) In Older Adults

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common infection that affects your respiratory tract. That's your breathing passages, including your nose, mouth, throat, and lungs. Most of the time, it feels like a mild cold. But if you're older or have certain health problems, it can be dangerous or even deadly.

There's no specific treatment for RSV. But there are things you can do to stay safe and manage your symptoms while the virus runs its course.

How Serious Is RSV?

RSV makes the rounds every year from the fall through the spring. It's hard to know exactly how many people get it. You may assume you have a cold, and doctors don't test for it very often. But researchers have estimated that more than 177,000 people over the age of 65 end up in the hospital with RSV every year, and 14,000 die from it.

For most people, symptoms are mild. They start about 5 days after you're infected and include:

  • Congestion
  • Runny nose
  • Sneezing
  • Coughing
  • Fever
  • Sore throat
  • Headache
  • If your condition gets worse, you may have trouble breathing. Or you might wheeze when you breathe.

    Most people are only sick for a week or two. But some people get more serious cases of RSV or complications.

    What Are the Complications of RSV?

    RSV can be dangerous if you're older or have certain health problems. As you age, your immune system doesn't work as well. You have a harder time fighting off any illness, including RSV. The virus can lead to inflammation in your lungs or a lung infection, like pneumonia.

    If you have certain other illnesses, RSV can make those symptoms worse. You should be more concerned about getting RSV if you have:

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Asthma
  • The virus is also more dangerous if your immune system is already weak from things like cancer treatment, an organ transplant, or a disease like HIV.

    When Should You Call the Doctor?

    There are certain signs that you may need medical attention for your RSV infection. Call your doctor if:

  • You have trouble breathing.
  • Your lips, fingernails, or skin turns blue.
  • You have a fever for more than 2 days.
  • Your symptoms seem much worse.
  • If you are having trouble breathing or your skin is turning blue, call 911 and get medical help right away.

    How Do You Treat RSV?

    RSV could land you in the hospital. There are no treatments right now that work on the disease itself. But you might need extra oxygen or even a machine to help you breathe. People who have a lung disease like COPD sometimes get steroids or other medicines to open their airways. If you're dehydrated, you may get fluids through a needle in your vein.

    If you aren't seriously sick, you can manage the virus on your own at home. These self-care steps can make you more comfortable while you recover:

  • Drink plenty of liquids.
  • Try over-the-counter medicines for pain or fever.
  • Use saline nose drops.
  • Get lots of rest.
  • Avoid cigarette smoke.
  • You won't normally get antibiotics unless you have a bacterial infection – like pneumonia – along with RSV. RSV is a virus, and an antibiotic won't help stop it.

    How Can You Prevent RSV?

    Both vaccines used against RSV are FDA-approved for prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in adults who are 60 or older. Still, the best treatment for RSV may be to avoid getting it in the first place. Doctors suggest the same good hygiene habits that protect you from many kinds of infections:

  • Wash your hands often.
  • Don't touch your face.
  • Stay away from sick people.
  • Keep out of crowds.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces that get touched a lot, like doorknobs and phones.
  • Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
  • Is a Vaccine Coming?

    Infectious disease experts say the way to keep older people safe from RSV complications is to come up with a vaccine to prevent it. Several kinds of vaccines are in the late stages of clinical trials.


    National RSV Treatment Shortage Impacts Parents On The Central Coast

    SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- There is a National Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) antibody immunization shortage.RSV is a highly contagious virus, most common in children. It causes mild, cold-like symptoms.

    Due yo the increase of RSV cases in the recent years post COVID-19, the FDA approved a vaccine like treatment to help prevent severity, hospitalizations and even fatalities.

    About 70,000 children are hospitalized each year for RSV and about 300, mainly infants die from severe symptoms.

    Pismo Beach Pediatric Center's Pediatrician, Dr. Ashlie Tam, says the treatment has helped decrease hospitalizations by 80%.

    However, due to high demand, treatment has out paced the supply of the medication.

    "Ideally, the newborns would actually get them before leaving the hospital if they were born in the hospital. And then the second doses for children that weigh more than 11 lbs., but due to the shortages of the immunization, it's been recommended to keep that to less than seven months of age," said Dr. Tam.

    Doctors recommend families focus on basic ways to minimize exposure to ay virus. To help keep infants safe, doctors say to wash hands frequently, disinfect home, and keep sick children home.

    During the holiday season they also say to avoid large gatherings if infants do not have their RSV immunization, ask loved ones if they are sick before visiting and if they are up to date with their own vaccines.

    Due to shortages, health care providers are prioritizing infants under seven months, those with heart and lung complications.

    In an effort to decrease RSV, the FDA has also approved a vaccine for expecting mothers between the months of 32-36 weeks. Antibodies will pass from mother to baby.

    Doctors are expecting more RSV immunizations next year in 2024.


    Driscoll Children's Hospital Part Of A Worldwide Study To Develop A Treatment For RSV

    The hospital is looking for newly diagnosed volunteers to help further the study.

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Winter doesn't officially begin for another 3 weeks, but here in South Texas, doctors are already seeing a surge in Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and it is one of the leading reasons why a young child could end up in the hospital.

    RSV is a highly contagious respiratory illness that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. For some, however, it can be more severe, and here in Texas, the numbers are climbing.

    The most recent report from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that for the South Texas region, nearly 1-in-4 RSV tests came back positive. Earlier this month, that figure was 1 in 3.

    There are now vaccines for older adults and pregnant women, but Driscoll Children's Hospital's Director of Pulmonology Dr. Jon Roberts said that when it comes to infants and children, dealing with RSV for most falls under the category of "supportive care."

    "We don't have a medication that will help them -- we support them," Roberts said. "We make sure they are hydrated. If they are able to drink, they drink, or they get IV fluids. We make sure their oxygen is okay and if they need extra oxygen, we give it to them."

    But Driscoll is also going a step further.

    According to Roberts, the hospital is part of a handful of sites around the world involved in a program to develop the first approved treatment for RSV. They are testing an oral medication that, when taken, kills the RSV virus, and they are looking for newly diagnosed volunteers.

    "What we are doing is we're recruiting infants and toddlers up to 3 years of age to be able to come into the study to take this medication for 5 days," Roberts said.

    In some cases, the actual medicine will be given and in others, it will be a placebo. Doctors will then be testing the patient to see how they respond to the drug.

    Roberts said that if they can show that the treatment helps, they will be that much closer to getting it approved and prescribed.

    Of course, in medical studies like this, it can be years before a drug is actually available.

    To find out more about the study, visit the RSVPEDs website. You may also email Dr. Jon Roberts at jon.Roberts@dchstx.Org






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