Father of infant hospitalized with RSV warns parents to be alert as respiratory illness spreads quickly - CNN

CNN  — 

Last week, Stephen Balka recovered himself surviving a parent’s nightmare. His 2-month-old lad Adrian was struggling to breathe, sometimes going arsenic agelong arsenic 7 seconds betwixt gasping breaths, the begetter said.

“It’s a precise terrifying situation,” Balka said. “It’s 1 of my biggest fears.”

After rushing Adrian to the ER, Balka and his woman were told their lad had RSV, a communal respiratory microorganism that immoderate doctors accidental is spreading astatine unusually precocious levels and tin origin terrible unwellness successful immoderate infants, according to the CDC.

The Balkas took Adrian backmost location aft initially getting cleared by doctors. But the infant’s labored breathing rapidly returned. Once again, they hurried to the ER, wherever they waited for hours earlier being transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital successful Houston, the begetter said.

Adrian has been hospitalized for a week successful the hospital’s intensive attraction unit, wherever Balka said helium is making important progress.

“If we would person waited immoderate longer, oregon we would person conscionable taken him home, you know, and benignant of conscionable gave him a small medicine, helium astir apt would not person made it connected his own,” Balka said.

More than 40 children are hospitalized astatine Texas Children’s Hospital with RSV, including astatine slightest 10 successful the ICU, according to Dr. Melanie Kitagawa, manager of the hospital’s pediatric ICU.

Kitagawa said the infirmary is seeing an unusually aboriginal surge successful patients with RSV, which typically spikes astir December oregon January successful Texas.

“It’s unspeakable to, to person immoderate household oregon immoderate kid person to spell done this,” she said.

The Houston infirmary is 1 of respective children’s hospitals that are seeing abnormally precocious numbers of RSV cases this season. Some doctors person told CNN they are overwhelmed with the unexpected flood of hospitalizations, immoderate of which necessitate respective days of supportive attraction for much terrible cases.

Most children volition drawback RSV earlier they crook 2, according to the CDC, and the cases are typically mild. But successful young infants and different children with weakened immune oregon respiratory systems, the unwellness tin beryllium dangerous, causing dehydration, occupation breathing, and perchance much superior illnesses similar bronchiolitis oregon pneumonia.

Standing successful the doorway of his child’s ICU room, Balka urged different parents not to hesitate to question attraction for their child.

“Don’t wait,” helium said. “If you consciousness arsenic if thing is incorrect with your child, you cognize your kid amended than anyone does. Get your kid assistance immediately. Because it could, you know, it could beryllium thing insignificant but again, it could beryllium thing catastrophic.”

Down the hallway from Adrian, 7-month-old Miles is successful the ICU aft his parents noticed helium had go lethargic, developed a cough and started throwing up.

Nine-month-old Koa was besides brought to the infirmary and placed successful intensive attraction aft his parent saw that helium wasn’t rather himself and was refusing to eat.

“On appearance, RSV looks akin to different respiratory viral infections that (parents) mightiness person acquisition with successful their children. But RSV – erstwhile you person a small one, an infant, idiosyncratic tiny – it conscionable has truthful overmuch much interaction connected them,” Kitagawa said.

Kitagawa encouraged parents to pass with their pediatricians if their kid has symptoms of RSV oregon different respiratory illnesses, which see runny nose, decreased appetite, fever, coughing and sneezing.