Flu jabs and children - does anyone have advice on this?

[coppertop]

Ds1 (4yrs) is asthmatic and has been offered the chance of a flu jab next month. I know the advantages of the jab but am finding it hard to find out what (if any) are the disadvantages of it. There seems to be a lot of information about DTP and MMR but not much about giving the flu jab to children. Does anyone have any advice/experience/opinions on this?

TIA

I have experience, but no real knowledge sadly. My ds had one last winter for the same reason; he's always much worse when he has viral infections so I thought it was worth it. It must be a tough call with your ds though; I think a lot of flu jabs still contain thiomersal, so that would be worth investigating.

I'd ask the GP about the choice of brands. AFAIK some contain thimerosil- probably best avoided if possible in an autistic child.

The only other thing to bear in mind is that the flu jab is always a bit of guesswork because they have to guess which strian will be most prevelant so some years they don't offer fantastic protection. Always a tough decision with an asthmatic though!

oh tamum already said that! Sorry being repetetive

Coppertop - my dd has had the flu jab in the past (heart defect). It doesn't guarantee that they won't get flu (for the reasons Jimjams says) but if they do it may be less severe. Dd hasn't ever had any reaction to it, and hasn't had the flu either thankfully. The first time, its usually given in two halves 4 weeks apart if my memory serves me right.