Health for Conception and During Pregnancy

What to Eat While Pregnant

Avoiding Miscarriage

Cord Blood Banking

Packing for the Delivery Room

Tips for the New Mom

Bringing Home Baby

Getting Baby to Sleep

Budgeting for Baby

Traveling with Baby

Dressing Your Newborn

Breastfeeding Myths

Finding a Safe Baby Crib

Soothing a Newborn

Losing Weight After Pregnancy

Protecting Children from a Common Respiratory Virus

(NAPSA)-With cough and cold season back in swing, parents with infants and small children should be on the lookout for a common virus that may lead to potentially serious complications--RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Nearly half of all children are infected during their first year of life, and almost all children get an RSV infection by the age of two. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among children under two years old.

RSV is a virus that causes acute respiratory illness in patients of all ages. While symptoms usually resemble the common cold and are fought off in a matter of days, cold-like symptoms accompanied by wheezing or difficulty breathing may be indicative of RSV. Among those at greatest risk from RSV are babies born prematurely, as well as children with lung or heart disease. Infants that attend child care or day care, and those with school-age siblings, also have an increased risk for RSV infections.

RSV is highly contagious. It can be spread when a person coughs or sneezes, and it can live on surfaces such as toys, countertops or doorknobs, and on hands and clothing.

It is important for RSV to be diagnosed--and distinguished from other, similar illnesses with similar symptoms--so that proper medical attention can be administered to minimize infection and risk to the patient. Health care professionals recognize the benefits of utilizing rapid RSV tests to aid clinical diagnosis and management of patient care. The QuickVue RSV test allows for the rapid, qualitative detection of RSV directly from specimens from symptomatic pediatric patients 18 years of age and younger. The test is intended for use as an aid in the rapid diagnosis of acute RSV viral infections.

The test, which offers high accuracy, gives results in 15 minutes during the same office visit. It was designed by the makers of the QuickVue Influenza test.

For more information, visit www.quidel.com.

A rapid diagnostic test for RSV can help children get proper medical attention, quickly, during the same office visit.