Sponsored by Martina Children's Hospital

Martina Children's Hospital has specialists in most fields and offers expertise in several specialist areas. In this article, their pediatricians guide you as a parent around one of the most common topics that contributes to great concern among parents of young children, namely the RS virus. Here's how to avoid it - and how to know if your child has been infected.

What advice can you give to reduce the risk of contracting RSV?

- Both children and adults can be infected with the RS virus, and in adults the virus appears more like a mild cold. It is extremely important that we protect our younger children from catching colds, especially babies and premature babies! They should not be exposed as RSV can cause severe symptoms such as coughing, breathing difficulties and feeding problems. Keeping babies in particular away from public places such as shops, shopping centers and similar indoor environments can help prevent them from becoming infected and it is important not to meet people around them with cold symptoms.

What preventive measures can be taken at home to prevent transmission from, for example, pre-school children to younger siblings?

- Careful hand hygiene for everyone in the family is important as RSV is partly a contact infection. Changing towels often is good and you can, for example, change clothes and wash the hands of the older sibling when they come home from preschool. If the older sibling has a cold, consider playing outside more. If possible, siblings with a cold should be separated from infant siblings. We can't protect ourselves against everything, but you do the best you can as a parent.

What parents should consider before visiting Martina's emergency department?

- Members can make a same-day appointment with a specialist doctor at Martina's emergency department, either via the Martina app or by phone. You can also come via drop-in, and a video visit is possible. Each appointment is scheduled for 25 minutes, but we naturally allocate the time required and work in several doctors' rooms at the same time. For example, a small child with RS virus may need to stay a couple of hours for inhalations.

As a member of Martina Children's Hospital, you get a direct number to our member phone for advice, or send pictures and get advice via chat on our digital platform Martina Direkt. When talking to a specialist nurse, parents can get advice on self-care at home and book a drop-in appointment or a later appointment with a pediatrician.

Find out more about Martina Children's Hospital membership and become a member by clicking here.