Vaccinating My Child Against Flu

Vaccinations have had their fair share of headlines over the years, with many people for and many against them.

I believe that all parents have the right to chose what they think is best for their children and will not fight them on the ideas they have, that’s their right as humans to make the choice right for them.

This post is about my thoughts on the flu vaccination and why I will be vaccinating my daughter again this year. I suffer from health anxiety and my big trigger is that I can’t protect my children from getting sick. No one likes seeing their child suffer through an illness that could have been prevented, the flu vaccine gives me a little reassurance that I am helping them fight and protecting them the best I can.

In Scotland children between the age of 2-5 (on September 2018 and not yet in school) can get the flu vaccination for free from October. The vaccine provides the best defence against flu, and not only will it protect your child, but you will help stop the spread of the virus to others who may be vulnerable.

2017 was a bad year for the flu, with the number of reported cases of flu doubling than in recent years, the flu jabs aim is to ensure as many people as possible are protected.

What is the flu spray?

The flu spray is given to the children as a painless nasal spray, a spray up each nose is all it takes and it’s done in under a minute. Quick, easy and simple.

The spray can take up to ten days to work and this will provide your child with protection from the flu for around a year. The flu vaccine will not cause your child to get the flu and is very safe and effective. Cora does find the whole spray up the nose unpleasant though but a bag of chocolate buttons makes her forget quickly.

It’s not always easy to tell your child has the flu. The illness comes on fast and is more intense than a cold. Kids tend to feel worse during the first 2 or 3 days they're sick.

Symptoms include:

· A high-grade fever up to 104 degrees F

· Chills and shakes with the fever

· Extreme tiredness

· Headache and body aches

· Dry, hacking cough

· Sore throat

· Vomiting and belly pain

Some parents mistake the flu for a stomach bug. That’s because unlike adults, children with the flu can have nausea, stomach pain, and vomiting.

The flu is highly contagious, particularly when kids share close quarters like they do in school classrooms. It spreads when they inhale droplets that are coughed up or sneezed by an infected person, or when they come in direct contact with mucus or spit from someone who has the flu.

Kids can spread the flu a day before their symptoms start, and 5-7 days after they get sick. It can easily move from kid to kid as they share things like pencils, toys, computers, remotes, spoons, and forks. Hand-to-hand contact is another main method.

Flu can lead to other problems; these include sinus infection, ear infection, or pneumonia. Call the doctor if your child's fever lasts more than 3 to 4 days. Also call if she complains of trouble breathing, ear pain, a stuffy nose or head, a cough that won’t go away, or she seems to be getting worse.

Young children under age 2 -- even healthy children -- are more likely than older children to be hospitalized from the complications of the flu.

Call NHS24 OR call 999 if they have one of the following symptoms:

· trouble breathing that doesn’t get better after you suction and clean her nose.

· skin turns bluish or gray skin.

· seems sicker than in any previous episode of illness or doesn’t respond like normal -- for example, if she doesn’t cry when expected or make good eye contact with you, or if she’s listless or lethargic.

· isn’t drinking fluids well or shows signs of dehydration, like absence of tears, crying less, peeing less (dry nappies), is cranky, or has low energy.

· has a seizure.

Making an appointment as soon as you can will help protect your children but not only them, those around them will also benefit as many are vulnerable to flu.

To find out more about the childhood flu vaccine and its benefits, please visit www.readyforflu.scot or phone NHS inform on 0800 22 44 88.