offered swine flu jab...

[goodlifemummy]

Morning! Got a letter from my GP offering me the swine flu jab, I am 12 weeks tomorrow. I am usually quite fit and healthy and don't tend to get really ill. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions one way or the other, I am leaning pretty strongly towards not getting it. I didn't get my two 5 year olds done either. Thanks!

Yes, you can have them together - they do one in one arm, one in the other - this is so the doc knows which jab you have reacted to if you get a local reaction (fairly common to get a small rash or hard lump with many vaccines, and it's often just a sign that your immune system is being challenged - which means it's working!).

All 3 kids and 2 adults in our family had a sore arm within an hour, and a hard hot lump followed, with whole arm a bit sore for several days to a week - this is normal for this jab, most people react this way, so don't worry about it. In common with many other jabs, a fever is quite common too, but DON'T use painkillers unless the fever is high and you feel unwell, as this can reduce the bodies reaction to the vaccine and mean you don't get full protection!