Swine flu jab

[~Wingnut~]

Hi all :o)

Our Doctors rang today to advise us to make an appointment on Saturday to have the swine flu jab. My husband is a renal transplant patient so is in the at risk group. They said it is advisable that the whole family have the jab!!
What are peoples thoughts here? My girls are 6 and 11 years old and I just don't know what the best thing to do is! How safe is it really? I've looked on the NHS website and feel more anxious about it all than I first did and not really reassured.

I have a phobia of needles and have already freaked out and having anxiety attacks over this! I don't know what to do for the best but I don't want to put any of us at risk.

I just need some view points I think, I don't know really I think I'm feeling like this because I wasn't prepared that they would want us all to have the jab, thought it would just be my husband.

[weeal]

Quite a few people have now had the flu jab I believe and there havent been any horror stories to my knowledge. Even the normal flu jab can make you feel a bit off at first but in the long run is beneficial. It would be a real shame tho if your husband was even more at risk from his own family.

I feel the same as you about injections, but this could be a life-saving jab. I hope someone in 'the know' comes on and advises you in a medical sense.

Chin up petal x

[~Wingnut~]

I know your right Al, thank you :o)
I have to go through with it and I think I would feel a lot better (well a little bit better) if it was just me and hubby having to have the jab. I think I'm just panicking (nowt new then!)

[weeal]

Kids are probably the biggest carriers of these type of viruses though, and will probably get through it better than you will lol

[stonekicker]

jab not painful - ache in the arm and headache / feeling crap bad-ish. only lasted a day and then was tired the next day. no big deal...probably won't work!

[karenmac60]

My husband is also a renal transplant patient and he has to get the jag when his surgery get supplies of the vaccine. So far there has been no mention of anyone else in the household getting it but I am perfectly prepared for myself and my daughter to get it if possible. I have heard no reasons to make me wary of getting it and knowing swine flu could kill my husband prioritises things for me - even if my daughter and I feel a bit ropey afterwards, there have been no deaths related to the vaccine but plenty related to the illness.

[caggy]

i am a nurse and at first was wary about getting the swine fl jab and i never take the seasonal flu jab. looking at people who have become ill or unfortunately have died from swine flu seem to either be those in the risk areas or relatively heathly people.
i think you should get the flu jab as well as your children your husband is immunocomprimised and obviously needs to take some sort of steriods. as you ma have senn swine flu is very contagious and in your case i think prevention is the way to go.
dont worry about needles its over in seconds and to be honest its not that bad. i only had local affects from the injection red and hot at injection site.
hope this helps, and dont believe all you read on internet even NHS website as swine flu is being updated every day

[Sqad]

I agree with caggy.

[~Wingnut~]

Thank you everyone for your replies, much appreciated :o)

I feel a bit calmer about having it done tomorrow now, I think anxiety and panic took over yesterday at the thought of the needle and I just kept getting upset. There was never any real question of me not having it done, I think I just needed a bit more of a heads up that we all may have to have the jab :o)

Thanx again everyone

[~Wingnut~]

Hi all again!

Just wanted to update that I have just got back from having the jab!! I went through with it and of course it wasn't as bad as I was worrying it would be. I did get very worked up about it all but the nurse was excellent as was my husband and they helped calm me down. I felt stupid afterwards that I had been so upset about it when I hardly felt a thing but when you have a phobia it's hard to rationalise things out. Just relieved it's over!! :o)