Doctors Warn Parents About Spike In RSV Cases

The children's hospital in Tulsa is very full and doctors said RSV is one of the main reasons why. There are several working theories behind the spike in RSV cases.

Friday, November 11th 2022, 10:32 pm



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The children's hospital in Tulsa is very full and doctors said RSV is one of the main reasons why.

Pediatricians said most people who get RSV experience something like a really bad cold, but it can be serious.

Doctor Theresa Horton at Utica Park Clinic in Owasso sees patients with RSV every day. She said this has been an unbelievably busy year for respiratory viruses.

There are several working theories behind the spike in RSV cases.

“Whether it's because they just were suppressed for a little while and now are back or we have a couple of years and kids and people not being exposed to them therefore they don't have an immune memory, or they haven't had any experience with it so they're getting them more easily and a little bit more severely,” said Dr. Theresa Horton, Utica Park Clinic Pediatrician.

Doctor Theresa Horton said there's also generations of moms who took extra precautions to avoid getting sick during the pandemic.

"Didn't pass that immunity through pregnancy or breast feeding either. So now we have a group of toddlers that don't have any of those antibodies,” said Dr. Horton.

Anyone can get RSV, but babies who are premature, under one-year-old or have underlying health conditions are at a greater risk.

"You're gonna see they're struggling, they're pulling in, the skin between their ribs may kind of cave in. You can see them tugging here. They'll get what we call grunting where every breath is uh uh uh,” said Dr. Horton.

It's most common in late winter and early spring, but the past two summers have been highly unusual.

"It was like this, whoop, it had been down low and then it went up in the summer and we had a little lull and it's back up to like almost the top of the graph,” said Dr. Horton.

RSV is spread from the little droplets that come out your mouth and nose and can live on surfaces and hands for many hours.

"And kids, you know they touch everything,” said Dr. Horton.

Doctor Horton recommends washing your hands frequently, covering your coughs and sneezes, disinfecting surfaces, and staying home when you're sick.

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