Really terrified about this flu going around

Just want to clear up a common misconception. You can have flu asymptomatically, with mild cold-like symptoms or the type that put you in bed for a week. You can't assume it's not flu just because it's mild - and you can still spread it.

Did you hear that they're vaccinating male chickens against flu every year now?

Rooster shots.

I had flu once, I was so ill that I had no interest in my phone or SM. So if they are posting about having flu, they probably haven’t got it.

If your health anxiety is that bad that you're genuinely 'terrified' of getting the flu, you should probably look into seeking help for that too. I'd argue that it's a much more dangerous thing to pass on to your DS than flu.

Actual flu is absolutely rotten - I remember getting it for the first time at about 19 and having to be carried down the stairs. I got it again in my late 30s and it was a great reminder that every time I'd moaned about feeling 'fluey' in between, I'd just had a bad cold 😅

It's absolutely nothing to be 'terrified' about though. You'll feel like you want to crawl out of your own skin for a few days, and if you're particularly unlucky you'll be knackered for a week or two afterwards.

Great opportunity to buy one of those miniature attention bells from Amazon and have the other half run around after you IMO.

Can book at my local boots for tomorrow. So it’s obviously area dependent. OP will
hopefully get lucky,

With some kindness, you seriously need to find some perspective in life.
Christmas will not be ‘ruined’.,,one year three of mine got chicken pox Christmas Eve, one year I had to postpone Christmas completely for days as I got awful food poisoning Christmas Eve, once I was in hospital Christmas Day plus four more days with pneumonia…we’ve been bereaved over that time too…yet my adult children never talk about any at of those years as being “ruined” as I just dealt with it all.

The tapestry of each family has stories of illness, injury, bereavement woven in to it, and if you haven’t had those in any horrific way just count your blessings.
See your GP.

I'm in my sixties and have had flu once. It was awful but never had it since, i think the odds of getting it are quite low but as others have said get the jab. It's still available.

You said your son had it, is he immune compromised? Because if he is and you are his main carer you are entitled to a free flu jab, you do not have to be in receipt of carer benefits to qualify. GP surgeries are really shit at telling people this. I was registered as a carer at my GP surgery for 10 years before they told me I could get a free flu jab!

How old is your DS op? My DS is 5 and was given it at primary school.

I would agree about seeing your GP about your health anxiety though. My DD is a couple of months too young for the flu vaccine but i can’t really spend my time worrying she will get flu.

We as healthy adults also choose not to get the vaccine. I only had it with one pregnancy.

Get a grip, it’s the flu. This is part of life.

Reminds me of a quote from Herodotus:

”Far better it is to have a stout heart always and suffer one’s share of evils, than to be ever fearing what may happen,”

I have paid for the 'flu jab for years. Still got something nasty this year - no idea whether it's 'flu but the symptoms are different from a cold.

Top tips for survival, make sure you have paracetamol and ibuprofen in the house to cope with aches/pains fever. Lemsip, so nasty usually, becomes oddly comforting, but remember it is one of your paracetamol doses. Cider vinegar and honey (capful, spoonful) topped up with hot water is soothing and mildly therapeutic, (the honey is antibacterial, vinegar mildly acidic so slows virus reproduction). Staying hydrated is important, hot drinks are good.

And NEVER take exercise while you have the thing. Obviously you'll have to potter round doing house stuff, but no gym, no walks, no running. That's really dangerous.

I paid £17 to get the jab done privately at Boots.

I get it done every year after catching flu in my 20s. It's worth it.

Oh- and in the meantime wear a mask and liberally deploy hand sanitiser.

As others have said-= go get the jab. Do it today. I paid £19.99 for mine at a pharmacy

In Scotland, jag, not jab, is common parlance for vaccination.

You’re correct. A jag is a fancy car!

Is jag a word? Isn’t it ‘flu jab’ not jag?

“A bit rough for a few days” is not a description of what having flu is like!

Epidemiologist here. It's an H3N2 It is subject to slight mutations which occur rapidly and frequently which makes vaccination less effective. It spreads rapidly because of these mutations.

But it isn't any more deadly than any other seasonal flu; if you aren't in a high risk group (under 5 / over 65) or suffering from an underlying condition (heart disease, respiratory problems in particular), get the jab - it may lessen the symptoms if it doesn't convey complete protection. If you get it treat the symptoms - stay in bed, stay warm, analgesics, plenty of fluids. You won't have much of an appetite - don't worry about it - eat what you can when you can. You should seek medical assistance if you are having breathing difficulties, you have a high temperature that doesn't go down after taking paracetamol (especially if patient is very young), you have an incapacitating cough accompanied by side or shoulder pain or you have an underlying health condition and your flu symptoms are not improving after 10 days.

It's nasty. A lot of the people crowding hospitals don't really need to be there but it is nasty. Highly unlikely to kill you or your DC. HTH.

My DS has developed a temperature and a nasty cough yesterday, and 4 week old DS has become very congested. Here we go!

Flu isn't pleasant but providing you are healthy and have a functioning immune system it's just a case of a rubbish week or two.

We also had a nasty coughing/temperature bug last Christmas, DS wasn't interested in his presents and just wanted to sleep. It was shit. But the world didn't end, and being anxious wouldn't have prevented it.

Covid is airborne. So priority number one is not to breathe in infected particles.

That means masking as first line of defence with a tight fitting mask, preferably N95.
Well ventilated spaces and running air purifiers.
Covid is very rarely transmitted by fomites, it's almost exclusively airborne transmission.

Until everyone understands (Florence Nightingale did!) this we're never going to reduce transmission, because we're just coming out of a covid wave which has reduced our immunity to other viruses like flu.

It does make a difference to be vaccinated. Symptoms should be over quicker and less severe, even if the variants are different. My son caught it, was feverish for two days then tired for a few days. I caught it, had a streaming nose for 2 days then felt pretty normal. Both vaccinated. (we did rapid tests that confirmed Flu A)

But the best thing you can do to avoid it is airborne mitigations. Infected people breathe out infectious particles.
So 1) wear a tightly fitting mask, preferably N95 but any tightly fitting mask is better than none
2) favour well ventilated outdoor spaces, open windows, let in air to sweep out infectious particles
3) run HEPA purifiers if you have - in an ideal world where the UKHSA did their job properly, these would be standard in schools and healthcare
4) avoid crowds.

‘I work in an nhs environment’

This could mean anything. Hopefully she isn’t front-line clinical.

Our whole family either have or have had it, after our youngest daughter brought it home from school. The school were giving flu jabs last week which was obviously too late since many of the kids were already off sick.

Then my wife and eldest daughter caught it, and just as I thought I'd dodged it, I got it too. For the last 5 nights I've slept so poorly, I wake up at 5am and waste time by browsing the AIBU posts on MN :)

But it's nothing to worry about unless you're 80+. Forget about exercising, keep yourself hydrated and remember to eat (we all lost appetite). Try to keep away from others, especially the elderly.

This is one of the rare moments when I will agree with you op. I have had the flu, and both Covid strains and I have never been so ill, but we all recovered in time. Have the vaccine and get on and enjoy your life and Christmas, all will be well.