Tag Archives: Respiratory Virus

Avoiding a Sick Sprout…

Avoiding a Sick SproutOK guys – As a healthcare provider (even if I’m on an extended “break”) I wanted to put this out there as my nurse’s Public Service Announcement for all parents who have babies, young children, kids, if you have little baby cousins, nieces and nephews, best friends who have little babies, or who are pregnant… GET A FLU SHOT!

Flu season is September 1st through March 31st (that’s the guideline we follow in the hospital) and the best way you can protect your child against a whopping case of sleepless nights, fever, crying, irritability, difficulty eating, etc etc is to get vaccinated and to vaccinate your kids!

Why Vaccinate?

In general, your baby needs to be up-to-date on all vaccines. ALL VACCINES. There really is no excuse for this. So much media sensationalism exists trying to unjustifiably pin long-term health effects on vaccinations, but no. Don’t buy into it. It’s ridiculous. It leads to worse problems, like the resurgence of diseases that used to be things of the past. Here on Little Sproutings, I try not to be incredibly opinionated about some issues, but failing to vaccinate your child is a whole other story. 

For more about vaccinating your child overall, see the “Additional Info” section below and additional resources at the end of this post.

Flu Vaccinating You & Your Sprout

The flu virus affects everyone. Babies and young children especially need a vaccine to defend their little bodies against the flu, because their immune systems aren’t at full strength and the effects of a flu illness are worse for them. Additionally, the course of a flu illness is more easily complicated with pneumonia because of a developing immune system. Continue reading “Avoiding a Sick Sprout…” »

A Parent’s Guide to Respiratory Virus EV-D68

EV-D68

Lately, there has been a lot of media coverage about a respiratory virus outbreak that has now spread to 22 states: EV-D68. On Twitter, I’ve been seeing a lot of extreme comments to CNN Breaking News‘ post about the virus, such as “the world is coming to an end,” “zombie apocalypse,” and a lot of unnecessary blaming of President Obama. Despite stirring up a lot of panic, according to the CDC the respiratory virus is actually “not commonly severe.” 

As a parent and nurse, I figured I should post an entry about the virus, how it affects your family, and what you can expect if you find that your child(ren) come down with symptoms that may alert you to this infection. So here’s the scoop:

What is EV-D68?

EV-D68 is a non-polio enterovirus, which is a very common class of virus that causes dozens of other illnesses, which generally are not severe. D68 is a virus that mostly affects infants, children, and teens, due to a more vulnerable immune system.  It usually manifests as a mild infection, like the common cold. However, the more severe cases of EV-D68 infections are in infants, children, teens, and immune compromised people who have a history of asthma or wheezing. Continue reading “A Parent’s Guide to Respiratory Virus EV-D68” »