A young Irish mother has taken to social media to warn other parents after her baby boy developed Respiratory Syncytial Virus last week.
The young woman remains in a children’s hospital with her baby boy after she noticed some symptoms of ill health, and later discovered it was RSV.
This dose is usually mild in adults, but when caught by children it can be much more serious - and there has been a surge in cases among tots in recent weeks.
Taking to Facebook to alert others to the tell-tale signs, the mother wrote: “His symptoms started with diarrhoea, he then started drinking a lot less of his bottle and falling asleep halfway through.
“He had a tiny cough since Tuesday and started going off his bottles.
“He usually drank 7oz every 4 hours and he was only taking 3oz then by Thursday night he only drank 3oz and the next bottle 1oz he seemed to be struggling after his bottles so I brought him straight in."
In the midst of hospital delays, this young mother was told that her son’s condition was likely viral and she should go home due to the long wait.
After asking them to check his oxygen levels before heading off, she said they were at 94, but dropped to 80 hours later.
“They tried sending me home saying it was viral and told me there was a 3 and a half hour wait to see a doctor so I asked could she check his oxygen levels, and can I come back in an hour and have her check them again,” she explained.
“She had no problem doing that and when I went back in, his levels were at 94 so they stuck him on a bed to be monitored and they dropped to 80 he’s been in here since.”
She concluded her account by warning other parents to be careful, after seeing first-hand the number of children being treated for the virus.
“There are so many babies in here at the minute with it so just be careful if you or anyone you know is feeling like they have a cold or flu stay away and always sanitize your hands regardless.”
