Has your child had nasal flu vaccine and why?

[MissT84]

Sitting on the fence about giving dc nasal flu vaccine (verging on saying yes). Dh doesn't want them to have it.

So aibu to ask if you have given it/would give it to your dc? And what reasons?

DC have had it every year for ages, can't remember any side affects. I dont understand why any parents would leave their child open to the flu when their is a vaccine. It is a nasty horrible illness for an adult to get never mind an adult.

I dont see that DH's opinion really matters in this case its a matter of your child's health and well being. Get it done and dont tell him.

You can still get flu if the strains covered by the vaccine aren’t the strains that are prevalent.

Yes Titty I do but that is not accurate of this years vaccine and regardless, having the flu jab still reduces the risks of catching the strains that are covered. So it’s a case of either being 100% unprotected or mostly protected. The argument that it ‘might not’ cover the prevalent strains is a defunct one.

DS had the vaccination. My DH and I both had flu over Christmas - DH reckons it was Australian flu after looking up the symptoms and it was horrible. DS didn't catch it.

And that sort of situation is exactly why he had the vaccination, to reduce his chances of getting flu.

I and my 4 year old had it, the baby is too young. Flu kills, it is my resonsibility to protect them as much as i can. easy

Yes, ds2 had it (neither ds1 nor ds3 were offered). Why? Because flu is horrible and avoiding it is good.

Hi I used to be an immunisation nurse and yes the spray can make you slightly poorly as it's a live vaccine. It can't give full blown flu though. Also only protects against 3-4 flu strains and there are thousands. The main ones are chosen. The flu spray for children is mainly for herd immunity so protects them and the public too as children tend to spread germs a lot easier than adults. It's to prevent vulnerable people from getting it.

Yes, dd had it. The nasal spray is so quick. Can't say I noticed her being unwell after other than a slightly runny nose. I paid for the vaccine for me from my local pharmacy. I wanted to decrease the liklihood of any of us getting flu.

Yes and I had the jab as I'm pregnant. My DF is currently undergoing chemo and my memory of once having flu was horrible. With hindsight it was the right decision.

DH (a healthy, fit 40 year old) was very nearly hospitalised over the New Year with it. He lost close to a stone in just over a week, coughing so hard he vomited constantly plus diarrhea. Temperature, aching, grey skin and just generally unable to do anything. Everything I got from the pharmacist/GP was useless at relieving any symptoms. Looking after him (and he's generally pretty stoic) has been a nightmare and at least he can explain how he's feeling which Ds who is 2 wouldn't have been able to.

Why wouldn't you? It reduces the chance of a serious illness. A healthy 18 year old died of complications of it last week. My kids have had it - no side effects

Yes, both my dc have had it. They were fine after it. If there is a chance I can protect them against certain strains of flu why wouldn't I? The same reasons I paid for them both to have the men B vaccinations.

I paid for my children to have it. I had to pay as they're past the age where they're entitled to it for free. They both had to have the injection. They're both autistic so needed lots of cajoling. 😂

It seemed reasonable to pay £10 for their jab as the flu would result in possibly 2/3 weeks of them feeling very crap (or worse). I'm aware the nasal spray/jab can only protect against the strains included in them but it still seems a small price to have any chance of avoiding it.

Yes as I don’t want them to suffer and more importantly I believe in herd immunity to protect the weak and vulnerable in society for whom the flu could be life threatening (eg elderly, immunocompromised people such as those on chemotherapy).

Yes both DC had it at school last term. Neither had any side effects, and didn't previous years either. (I tried to pay to have the injection at a pharmacy, but there was a possibility that I was allergic to one of the ingredients so they wouldn't let me have it. Otherwise I've had the injection every year for about the last 10 years).

Why? Why not? It was recommended, free (for them), administered at school, fuss free. Also we spent Christmas with newborn and elderly relatives who couldn't or wouldn't have the spray or injection and I didn't want to risk my DC passing the flu on to potentially vulnerable people, who would have been at greater risk had they developed the flu or complications themselves.

what reason do you think children get the flu vaccine?

Firecracker2 the reason the NHS provide vaccines for certain ages and not others is because they are the people that will spread the virus more easily around the population. I believe.

yes. Its the most effective of the flu vaccines and id really rather we didnt all get flu.

My kids have had it (although my daughter only let them do one nostril, so not sure how well covered she is)

My poor friend decided against it and is currently in bed with flu since last week, attempting to care for her three children who also have the flu

Yes my dcs have had it at school, apart from the eldest who was over the age so I paid for it, and dh and I had the jab. The only one of my dcs to have any side effects was ds who had a bit of a runny nose and slight temperature for two days. Dh and I had sore arms for a few days and I felt like I had a cold which could have been brewing anyway.

The main reason for them having it is to drastically reduce their chances of getting flu. I've had flu and it's god awful, it took me 6 months to fully recover and I wouldn't want my enemies to get it never mind my children.

My mil is undergoing chemo and radiotherapy and flu could be very dangerous for her.

My 2yo DD had the spray. She found it very exciting! DH had the jab because of his chronic conditions. I've had the jab following a cancer diagnosis - now on chemo. My parents and PILs have had it due to age/chronic medical issues. Hopefully us all being vaccinated will protect my 1yo DD and 3mo niece who are too young to be vaccinated. Oh and everyone else!

No mine don't because of the gelatine.

Absolutely. Children pass the virus on more than adults (they are superspreaders), so by vaccinating you are protecting vulnerable members of society. www.bbc.com/news/uk-42132484

And 'aussie flu' is included in this year's vaccine - it's a myth that it's not part of the vaccine: www.bbc.com/news/health-42602394

That said, flu season may be peaking, and you've missed the ideal opportunity to vaccinate already, and it takes a couple of weeks to build immunity, so may not be worth doing it now.

Absolutely. DS1 (9) is asthmatic and has had the flu vaccine since he was 2. He’s never been poorly as a result of it.

Yes. I’ve spent too many nights in hospital already with my son who tends to get breathing problems when he has a cold.

Yes because DS is a particularly 'at risk' child. DD has it for her own sake, but also to try to provide an immune group around DS. We (parents) have had the jab too, for the same reason.

I work for the government and they were strongly encouraging all staff to have the jab, especially this year. They pay for it too.

Am off ill now with a bug, but it's nowhere near as bad as the Feb half-term where we all caught flu from MIL (even through she wore a mask and gloves), and spent the entire ski holiday in bed with high fevers, unable to get up or out at all. It was quite frightening, and that was before we had a vulnerable DS.

No, we don’t do the flu nasal spray (do all other vaccines). Firstly because it’s very likely to make them poorly: the spray is live (unlike the jag) and fever,chills etc. are listed as common side effects. This is as bad as flu gets for many people, as shown in studies looking at immunity at the start and end of the flu season. (The widespread myth that flu ALWAYS has you flat on your back for weeks is one of the reasons it spreads - people assume it must be a cold if they get a mild case and go about their daily lives to infect others.)

Secondly, even if a healthy child does contract flu, the chances of them not making a full recovery are extremely slim. Children are targeted for the benefit of others rather than their own benefit, which the NHS doesn’t even try to deny - they are targeted because they are so-called superspreaders. Given the high risk of unpleasant side effects it’s hard to justify putting my child through this for the benefit of a hypothetical third party.

Thirdly, the vaccine effectiveness is not up to much in a good year, and is even worse this year (10-20% I think?). There is also some evidence from the US that the spray becomes less effective over time, for reasons that aren’t well understood. We’re a few years behind in terms of how long the program has been running, but it’s possible that the same will happen over here.