I'm a pediatric nurse and my daughter was airlifted due to RSV - GMA

Hannah Brand said her girl Paitynn was conscionable 2 months aged erstwhile she developed what seemed similar a cold.

Over the people of respective days, Brand said Paitynn got progressively worse and started to person trouble breathing.

"When she would breathe, she was panting and you could spot she was astir benignant of sweating," Brand, a ma of three, told "Good Morning America." "She was moving truthful hard to instrumentality a breath."

Brand said watching her girl conflict to respire was a "red flag" that she needed to beryllium seen by a pediatrician.

"A immense alarm to maine was the sinking successful of the tegument astir her ribs, called retractions, and for kiddos, particularly successful a 2-month-old, retractions is simply a immense motion of accrued enactment of breathing," said Brand. "So that was a big, large indicator that thing is incorrect here, that this is much than conscionable a cold."

Brand said a pediatrician diagnosed her girl with RSV, oregon respiratory syncytial virus, which usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but tin go serious, particularly for infants.

In Brand's case, her girl was admitted to a section hospital, and past airlifted to Children's Hospital & Medical Center successful Omaha, Nebraska, implicit 100 miles distant from the family's hometown.

"I'm utilized to seeing this each time successful different kiddos, but erstwhile it came down to it was my girl experiencing this, it was astir similar my caregiver encephalon went retired the model and it was ma encephalon 100% and it was precise terrifying," said Brand. "It was a immense vantage that I knew what to look for and however to intervene should I request to, but astatine the clip I was 100% ma mode and I was precise terrified."

In the hospital's pediatric intensive attraction unit, Brand said she saw what galore hospitals are experiencing crossed the state -- an overflow of pediatric patients.

Hospitals successful much than 2 twelve states -- including Rhode Island, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts -- and the District of Columbia person told ABC News they are feeling the crush of a higher-than-expected complaint of definite pediatric infections different than COVID-19.

Nationally, pediatric furniture capableness is the highest it has been successful 2 years, with 75% of the estimated 40,000 beds filled, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

"The hallway that we were connected was wholly full," said Brand. "Every country had a kid successful it."

Brand said she considers her household "one of the fortunate" ones due to the fact that Paitynn responded rapidly to treatment.

She was enactment connected nasal oxygen to assistance her breathing and was enactment nether airy sedation, which allowed her to remainder and improve, according to Brand.

"Once she started that airy sedation, she was capable to slumber and we noticed instantly connected her monitors, her oxygen improved, her bosom complaint improved," she said. "As she would sleep, her assemblage was dilatory recovering."

Paitynn was discharged from the infirmary aft conscionable 2 days, and continued to improve, according to Brand.

Today, 1 period aft being hospitalized, Brand said Paitynn experiences the occasional coughing spell but is different "back to her aged blessed self."

"We bash inactive travel up precise intimately with her pediatrician conscionable due to the fact that the hazard of her aboriginal connected possibly processing puerility asthma, reactive airway disease, those kinds of things tin beryllium a small spot much accrued aft they've had an RSV diagnosis," said Brand. "We've conscionable had to support an other adjacent oculus connected her."

Brand said intimately monitoring Paitynn has included keeping the babe distant from crowds and asking friends and household members to not unnecessarily interaction her oregon buss her.

She said her proposal to different parents and caregivers disquieted astir RSV is to "trust their gut" and to question aesculapian help.

"If for immoderate crushed you question the information of your kiddo oregon you're conscionable not comfy with however they look, spot your gut," said Brand. "Please instrumentality them successful to beryllium seen. If you deliberation astatine each that you're not comfy with something, spot that instinct and get them immoderate help."

What parents should cognize astir RSV

RSV is simply a contagious microorganism that tin dispersed from microorganism droplets transferred from an infected person's cough oregon sneeze; from nonstop interaction with the virus, similar kissing the look of a kid with RSV; and from touching surfaces, similar tables, doorknobs and crib rails, that person the microorganism connected them and past touching your eyes, chemoreceptor oregon rima earlier hand-washing, according to the CDC.

People infected with RSV are usually contagious for 3 to 8 days, but immoderate infants tin proceed to dispersed the microorganism adjacent aft they halt showing symptoms, for arsenic agelong arsenic 4 weeks, according to the CDC.

Among children, premature infants and young children with weakened immune systems oregon congenital bosom oregon chronic lung illness are the astir susceptible to complications from RSV.

"Pretty overmuch each kids person gotten RSV astatine slightest erstwhile by the clip they crook 2, but it's truly younger kids, particularly those nether 6 months of age, who tin truly person occupation with RSV and sometimes extremity up successful the hospital," Dr. William Linam, pediatric infectious illness doc astatine Children's Hospital of Atlanta, told ABC News past year. "That's wherever we privation to get the connection out, for families with young children oregon children with aesculapian conditions, making definite they're alert this is going on."

In the archetypal 2 to 4 days of contracting RSV, a kid whitethorn amusement symptoms similar fever, runny chemoreceptor and congestion.

Later on, the symptoms whitethorn escalate to coughing, wheezing and trouble breathing.

Parents should besides beryllium alerted to symptoms including dehydration and not eating, according to Linam.

"Not making a bedewed diaper successful implicit 8 hours is often a bully marker that a kid is dehydrated and a bully crushed to question aesculapian care," helium said. "Sometimes kids nether 6 months of property tin person pauses erstwhile they're breathing, and that's thing to get aesculapian attraction for close away."

Infants and toddlers tin usually retrieve astatine location with RSV unless they commencement to person trouble breathing, are not eating oregon drinking, oregon look much bushed than usual, successful which lawsuit parents should interaction their pediatrician and/or instrumentality their kid to the exigency room.

At-home attraction for kids with RSV tin see Tylenol and Motrin for fevers, arsenic good arsenic making definite the kid is hydrated and eating.

Parents tin assistance support their kids from RSV by continuing to travel arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable the 3 Ws of the pandemic: deterioration a mask, lavation your hands and ticker your distance, according to Linam.

Infants who are either calved prematurely (less than 35 weeks) oregon calved with chronic lung illness whitethorn payment from a medicine to forestall complications of RSV since they are astatine accrued hazard of terrible disease. Parents should sermon this with their pediatrician.

ABC News' Courtney Wilson and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.