Most people spread RSV for 3 to 8 days, starting a day or two before symptoms; some infants and immunocompromised people can shed it for up to 4 weeks.
It moves through droplets, direct contact, and surfaces, where the virus survives for hours. The return-to-normal rule matches the CDC's general respiratory guidance: back to activities when symptoms are improving and you have been fever-free 24 hours without medication, with added precautions for a few days after. Protection priorities: young infants (RSV is the top cause of infant hospitalization), premature babies, older adults, and the immunocompromised, so skip visiting them until clearly recovered. Routine RSV has no antiviral; treatment is fluids, fever management, and watching the breathing. Emergency signs, especially in children: fast or labored breathing, bluish lips or face, and signs of dehydration like very few wet diapers.
What to do
Common questions
How long am I contagious with RSV?
The CDC's numbers: people with RSV are usually contagious for 3 to 8 days, and can start spreading a day or two before symptoms show. Two groups break that window: some infants and people with weakened immune systems can keep spreading for up to 4 weeks, sometimes even after symptoms are gone. RSV spreads like other respiratory viruses, through droplets from coughs and sneezes, direct contact, and contaminated surfaces, where it can survive for hours. The practical guidance mirrors other respiratory viruses: stay home while symptomatic, and you can return to normal activities when symptoms are improving overall and you have been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, then mask and distance for a few more days around others. The high-risk people to protect hardest: young infants (RSV is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the US), premature babies, older adults, and anyone immunocompromised; hold off visiting them until you are clearly past the illness. There is no specific antiviral for routine RSV; care is fluids, fever control, and watching breathing, with emergency signs being labored or fast breathing, bluish lips, and dehydration in kids.