East Care Blog

As you’ll be aware, in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau, we are currently seeing large numbers of children infected with the RSV virus.

RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and it is a common respiratory virus, which on occasion may cause some children to require hospitalisation. Most will be able to recover at home.  However, if you are worried about your child, you should seek a medical review.

Symptoms of RSV include:

• a runny nose
• coughing or sneezing
• fever
• wheezing and difficulty breathing
• loss of appetite
• difficulty feeding due to breathlessness.

To keep this infection from spreading:

• maintain a safe physical distancing
• practise good hand hygiene.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow
• Do not share eating and drinking utensils
• Regular clean and disinfect surfaces
• Keep small babies away from crowds or childcare centres

We know it can be confusing when multiple cold and flu symptoms present. Of course, we need to be on the watch out for symptoms that might seem like Covid-19, but it’s important to remember that RSV can also present as a serious illness and anyone in your family who has the symptoms should be seen by a doctor before it becomes serious.  Please don’t hesitate to call us if you are concerned and we can suggest a course of action to work out if you need to come into the clinic. If you’re concerned about Respiratory Syncytial Virus symptoms overnight, when we are shut, call Healthline. They’ll be able to answer any urgent questions and advise if you need to seek help before we open at 7 am.