A POLL Are you one of the 20% who are ill at the moment ?

[ooooohnoooooo]

I've got the lurgy (unspecified variety, temp, throat, cough, aches etc). Wrestled with it a week but ended up seeing GP yesterday as I now have a chest infection (wonderful 🙄). Get your tiny violins out, people. 🎻

GP told me that 20% of the population is ill at the moment. TWENTY!!!!!!??????? That's millions of us. I'm staggered.

AIBU to ask : Are you one of the 20% ?

vote YANBU (YES I AM ILL) for ‘YES I am bloody ill. Thanks for asking, What a great way to start the new year’ Sending lemsip, turmeric and ginger remedies to all of you.

vote YABU (NO I’m NOT ILL). for ‘I’m perfectly fine thank you. Pah, doctors what do they know, and how on earth did you get a GP appointment so quickly?’

Happy new year Vipers one and all.

edited to clarify the voting options.

@CautiousLurker01 Happy Birthday! Really hope it’s not noro and you don’t spend the day in the bathroom.

Me too. I've had maybe 2 or 3 mild colds in my life and that's it.

What do you try your Hayfever. ?

Coming through it now but I definitely came down with a flu like illness on Boxing Day. Fever, shakes, chills, muscle aches, bloody awful cough. I'm over it now but still didn't feel able to go into work this week because so felt so fatigued. Will definitely get my jab next year! And not run myself ragged preparing Christmas for my in-laws again....

I wonder if anyone in charge has made the connection between not offering the flu jab to under 65s and the mysterious rise in flu this year?

Thank you. Me too - it all just sucks! Get well soon.

I've had a mild cold for a few days. Sore throat and sore ears, very slight cough and very slight runny nose. Feel tired with it.

Eh? The flu jab has never been offered to under 65s (or only as a temporary measure after Covid, when it was offered to over 50s for a year or two). I’m in my 40s and generally healthy and have always had to pay privately.

Day 17 here 😭

I'm not ill, no-one in my family is ill, none of my friends are ill, and no-one at work as far as I know.

So that's about 70 out of 70 people who are not ill.

@CautiousLurker01 happy vomity birthday to you. 🥳 I hope that you feel better soon enough to get cake

I'm under 65, have never had the flu jab and have never had flu.

I usually get the flu jab every year and am fine. I missed it this year and have the plague. I’ll not miss it again.

@CautiousLurker01 happy birthday! It's my birthday aswell and already a crap time of year to celebrate as everyone skint after xmas/partying out after new year/miserable weather! I hope you feel better soon. As my pp I havnt eaten a solid meal since 10th December...I have no clue what new type of hell this is!

Ugh, I've woken up this morning with a horrible chest cough, sore throat and feeling sick, even the inside of my ears are sore! 🤒

YABU. All good here

Absolutely this!
Avoid people with illness
Stay at HOME If you are ill
Wash your hands

It's more like 25% currently

Non stop illness here. Since the end of November, we have had norovirus, flu (2 weeks in bed variety) and now a terrible cough/cold/ear infection/conjunctivitis/chest infection combo. FML.

Both WFH, so viruses etc are normally brought home by 5 year old DC (who never seems to suffer much), or caught on the train on the rare occasions we go in.

They possibly have in Northern Ireland, as reports from there this week are apparently saying:

"Those aged 50 to 64 will shortly be able to receive a free [flu] vaccination.

Arrangements are being completed at pace to make the vaccination available through Community Pharmacies, Trust vaccination clinics and GP surgeries."

I’m not currently ill but over the Christmas week our household, sister’s household and parents’ household all had various respiratory/gastro viruses. So that’s 9 out of 9 of us. We live hundreds of miles apart. It seems like the whole country has been ill at some point or another over the last 4 weeks

I still think we’re seeing the after effects of Covid. Both the fact that immune systems have been affected by the virus and also not having as much flu circulating for a few years (and other viruses) meant general immunity in the community dipped.

There were warnings from Australia that flu this year was awful. And although the vaccinations weren’t as effective as normal they still help. I think offering them to over 50s would help. I’ll pay for one next year!

I haven’t had so much as a cold for a year but was knocked sideways by some virus early November and it’s taken a long time for me to get over it. Developed post viral fatigue.

This year has been awful!

Oh no - many commiserations on our joint birthday! I feel especially bad as DH has gone out of his way to make it special with gifts etc and I really just want to crawl into bed and sleep. :(

hope you feel better soon!

No. Only my eldest has been ill. However he says he has the flu but has been up pottering about cooking and eating daily. He has never had the flu in his life. He has a bad cold if that.

Lots of people are ill. But I don't know anyone ill right now personally or has been ill with lergy this year so far.

Yes have been ill for the last month, getting to the end of it now (bad cold) although wondering if it was a mild flu as I'm the only one in the household who didn't have the flu vaccination

Not sure if I'm full blown ill but I've had a blocked nose and felt very head coldy for over a month now. Nothing is working. Am officially bored with it now.