Tots to teens: How to help minimise the risk of your child catching RSV

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Like Covid-19, RSV spreads through droplets in the air from coughing or sneezing.

Up to 90% of all children are infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) by two years of age. Most of them will have mild symptoms which resolve themselves within a week or two.

“But some become quite unwell with more serious symptoms such as rapid breathing and refusing food and liquids along with a persistent temperature of 38°C or above, even after administering paracetamol or ibuprofen,” says Dr Máire Finn, a GP at Ennis Centric Health, Co Clare. “RSV can cause bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways of the lung) and lead to hospital admissions.”