Flu jab for 17 month old dd?

[CharlieBoo]

Hi, we received a letter from our drs last week asking if we would like to bring dd in for the flu jab. On the top of the letter someone had hand written the word asthma.

She is only 17 months and has not been diagnosed with asthma, it has been mentioned by one GP as last winter she had bronchilits 3 times, and on the last time they gave her a 3 day course of oral steroids which really helped.

I rang the surgery today to query and they just said that there was nothing on the system to say the letter had been sent but if she'd had three episodes then a good idea to get it done. Mmmm....what do you think? Do you give your asthamtic dc's the nomal flu jab and would you with a 17 month old? Any advice greatfully received.

If its any consolation I struggle with this one.
I have 3 DS. All have asthma, but DS2 gets it badly and has had several bad sessions this year.
DS1 and 3 have never been offered a jab. DS2 has. The problem within is that when he had his pre-school booster, he developed HSP (Henoch Schonlein Purpura) - it over loaded his immune system. Thankfully it did not lead to permanent kidney damage, but it was a shock.
so when the letter came i discussed it with my GP and weighed up the pros and cons.
We decided not to go ahead - and the GP was fully behind this as he had a history of over reaction. He was also nearly 5 by this point and bigger, so more able to cope with flu etc on his immune system.
My advice is to discuss it with your GP. Weigh up the pros and cons. Make an informed decision.

DD3 has cystic fibrosis(I know it's not the same thing!) and had her first flu jub aged 18 months last winter. She had no reaction and nothing more serious than a cold or two last winter.

Friends DS who is the same age has severe asthma and she didn't want him to have the jab. He was admitted to hospital three times last winter and was really ill.

DD3 has just had her flu jab again, no problems. I know it seems like another thing to worry about, but I would do it.

Sorry, that sounded like I was really judging my friend. I wasn't honestly! He had just had bad reactions to his other jabs and she decided it was just one too many. He has had his flu jab this year though and was absolutely fine with it.

I think astudorrose said - it's not a one size fits all situation.
Sometimes you have to make worse case scenario decisions. My choice was that he had a severe reaction to previous immunisations. If this happened again and the HSP returned, his kidneys could be affected permanently. If he didn't get the jab, I believed that i could cope better if he had an asthma attack. As it happened he had no jab and only got a sniffle.
Each case needs to be viewed on its own merits.

Thanks for replies.

Dd is very prone to colds and nearly always goes to her chest, so maybe its best if I do get it done.

Last winter was her first winter, and this one could be a lot better for her chest, I just don't know, she is so little yet. I just wandered what other mums of asthmatic dc's do, and I can see its not all straightforward. The dr who sent/asked for the letter to be sent has seen my dd many time and was the one who prescribed the steroids for her, so she knows her history and if she thinks it will help then so be it.

Fingers crossed for a better winter for all our dc's.