GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)-While we have had an unexpected amount of snow already this winter, Priority health has also noticed quite the uptick in children with RSV this Winter. This year the RSV season has been exceedingly high and unprecedented according to Dr. David Rzeszutko, vice president of Medical and Operations at Priority Health. The reasoning behind the spike according to Dr Rzeszutko, is due to a lot of children being sheltered and place. Their immunity systems never had the chance to build immunity and therefore now the virus is affecting them stronger and taking them longer to recover due to it being their first exposure.
Dr. Rzeszutko shared some prevention tips when it comes to keeping our children healthy. The first is to form good handwashing habits. It is important that children wash their hands with warm water and soap singing “Happy Birthday” two times. Another tip is teaching your child to cough into their arm or shoulder to prevent the spread of germs. Another important measure is if your child is sick to keep them home and limit their exposure around others. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s illness there are a lot of resources to help at Priority Health’s website that you can find here.
