The CRAZY Reason You Should Wash Your Hands Before Touching A Baby

The changing weather is always welcome when you've gone through several months of just freezing cold. But even with the weather changing from cold to warm, it's still easy to catch a cold from someone else and get sick. And if you're around young infants, it can be especially dangerous. 

Scary Mommy blogger Ashley Austrew wrote a post about a photo of a hospitalized baby that she found on the Imgur, along with a warning from a worried father about the dangers of unwashed hands to the health and safety of toddlers. 

Originally admitted for viral meningitis, the dad's "little fighter" was fighting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). According to WebMD, RSV "is a lot like a bad cold. It causes the same symptoms." Normally, RSV is nothing to worry about, but with babies, it can lead to more severe — sometimes life-threatening — diseases like pneumonia.

The dad narrated how they almost lost his little fighter when the hospital told them there was nothing they could do if the symptoms got worse. They later moved her to another facility.

"As soon as the pediatric team arrived at the hospital to pick her up, she flatlined," he narrated. "They revived her and put her on a ventilator immediately. Since then, she has been diagnosed with RSV, a severe case of pneumonia, type H flu, bronchialitis, and a partially collapsed right lung."

RSV, like the cold, is common and contagious, and young children can catch it at least once by the time they are two years old. It's spread by touching hard surfaces. And the best way to stop the spread of such a disease?

"Please make sure to wash your hands before handling little ones. And make sure to wrap them up when heading outside into the cold," said the dad, who also thanked hospital staff for doing everything they could so his daugher survived the frightening ordeal.

Worried about your own little fighter? Watch out for these symptoms:

• Cough
• Stuffy or runny nose
• Mild sore throat
• Earache
• Fever
• Lack of energy
• Fussiness or crankiness
• Less hunger than usual
• In more severe cases, wheezing

If you suspect such a thing, please take them to a doctor IMMEDIATELY.