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Seems like a good topic to start with so many people, including me, coming down with this.
Everything I read says RSV is mild in healthy adults, but I guess it depends on how you define "mild." I think that may be an overstatement. I have found it to be one of the nastiest "colds" I've ever had.
If you define mild as "not requiring hospitalization" then I guess its true, but that's a pretty loose definition. Covid was "mild" by my standards-a few sniffles and coughs, 1 or 2 days of mildly sore throat, some fatigue and dizziness but I never had a fever, trouble breathing, or felt sick.
This RSV thing almost caused me to go to the hospital because my lungs were so congested. Not exactly what I'd call mild. That improved with expectorant use, and by yesterday (about Day 10) I was feeling pretty good. Then today, I woke up with a sinus infection! Headache, face ache, teethache, my head smells like dead fish when I inhale. Lovely!
Impossible to know if this is still RSV or something that followed on it's heels. Talked to my PCP and he doesn't think that my steroid injection 2 weeks ago played a part in the severity of RSV for me, which was my theory, he said it's just not as mild as its being represented.
Hopefully this sinus thing clears up so I don't have to take antibiotics for something that could be viral.
During 1975–1995, a total of 2960 healthy adults, 18-60 years of age, were prospectively evaluated for respiratory virus infections. Of these subjects, 211 (7%) acquired respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. The infections were symptomatic in 84% of subjects, involved only the upper respiratory tract in 74%, and included lower respiratory tract symptoms in 26%. Overall, 40% of the subjects were febrile. Lower respiratory tract signs developed in 26%. RSV illnesses were more prolonged than non-RSV respiratory illnesses.Compared with influenza, RSV infections were less frequently associated with fever and headache, but were associated significantly more often with nasal congestion, ear and sinus involvement, and productive cough. Absence from work during the acute phase of the illness resulted from 38% of RSV infections and 66% of influenza cases. The mean duration of RSV illness (9.5 days), however, was significantly longer than that of influenza (6.8 days). The occurrence of annual epidemics of RSV, the virus' potential to reinfect all age groups, and the morbidity associated with these reinfections suggest that RSV infections in working adults may result in appreciable costs for medical visits and absence from work. https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/33/6/792/329101
I think I’ve been sick with the flu. I had a sore throat for not quite a week, with aches on and off and for a couple of days, headaches. That developed into a cough, and each day, it gets less and looser and looser. I’ve been blowing my nose these past few days and the mucus is looser.
I have at home COVID tests and took one, which was negative. I got my flu vaccine September and I guess it didn’t give me full protection. But it seems like it’s keeping most of this sickness away from my lungs. I really don’t think it’s RSV because it just seems to be much stronger of a virus.
It’s been decades since I’ve had the flu, and now I remember why the medical profession considers it a killer. If it takes over your lungs I swear I think you could drown in the mucus.
I think I’ve been sick with the flu. I had a sore throat for not quite a week, with aches on and off and for a couple of days, headaches. That developed into a cough, and each day, it gets less and looser and looser. I’ve been blowing my nose these past few days and the mucus is looser.
I have at home COVID tests and took one, which was negative. I got my flu vaccine September and I guess it didn’t give me full protection. But it seems like it’s keeping most of this sickness away from my lungs. I really don’t think it’s RSV because it just seems to be much stronger of a virus.
It’s been decades since I’ve had the flu, and now I remember why the medical profession considers it a killer. If it takes over your lungs I swear I think you could drown in the mucus.
My RSV started with sore throat. RSV is known for producing prodigious amounts of mucus. I told the nurse on Monday it felt like I was drowning and she said she knew right away it was RSV. She was right, as tests proved. I was negative for flu and covid and positive for RSV.
My infant granddaughter was hospitalized for two day with RSV -- very serious for infant. My daughter also has it. She said she needed to get eye medication as the mucus was coming out of their eyes. She also has a nasty cough. We skipped Thanksgiving dinner together. This is highly contagious.
At first, I thought I was just having a really bad bout of allergies. But as time went on, I thought it can't just be that. I was sneezing a fair amount, but the amount of snot (sorry) was amazing and never ending. I'm not particularly achy or overly sleepy, nor feverish but the nose/head stuffy.
Not doing anything other than the usual fluids, Tylenol etc.
My toddler has/had RSV (still getting over it). He was pretty sick, but he fought through it and didn't need hospitalization. Nasty bug. He had covid last year, and this was way worse. I got it from him (PCP tested me for it). Its just a bad sold for me, but definitely worse than a typical sold. I rarely get sick, so definitely one to look out for.
For anyone with kids that has it - highly recommend a humidifier overnight to help loosen up the gunk and help w/ the cough.
This RSV thing almost caused me to go to the hospital because my lungs were so congested. Not exactly what I'd call mild...
How do you know it was RSV?
My wife is finally better after 4 weeks of a nagging bug. Symptoms were sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, ear congestion and mild fatigue. She went to a clinic and tested negative for Covid, Flu A and B, and also negative for RSV.
I've had runny nose, headache, and tiredness for the past 10 or 11 days. It hasn't been too bad except for the first 3 or 4 days. After that, it's just been intermittent. I'll feel like crap for a few hours, then feel OK for several hours, then feel crappy again.
Don't know if I've got RSV or just a lousy head cold. No coughing. Almost no sneezing. No fever (I don't think). Just runny nose, headache, and tiredness off and on throughout the day. Hasn't stopped me from doing things I enjoy like playing golf (9 holes) today. Just made me feel crappy while doing it.
I'm a test subject for an RSV vaccine, it's a 3-year trial and I'm in my 2nd year of it. No idea if I got the actual vaccine or a placebo, and I had a "booster" this year (again - don't know if it was the real thing or a placebo).
But I was provided with tons of information about RSV in the initial interview, and my one-year-anniversary of being in the trial.
RSV, itself, is not deadly. It causes deadly illness, but it isn't one. Most babies who are infected with RSV, who also die, die from the bronchitis that is caused by the RSV. It's not the RSV that kills them. It's the bronchitis infection that RSV causes. It's an important distinction.
RSV is one of several possible causes of what we think of as "the common cold" - which is actually a coronavirus (RSV is not). It can also cause severe illness in seniors and immunocompromised people.
It's highly contagious, and spread in the air and it's likely that most people become infected with it at least a few times in their life, even if they never have any symptoms at all. Anyone who says they have a really bad cold - and sneezes within 20 feet of you - might be infecting you.
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