Esther and William have been poorly recently
With a nasty bout of Hand, Foot and Mouth
They seemed to share the virus
William had the spots and an awful barking cough
Esther got the fever and with the fever the very real fear of a febrile convulsion
I have always worried about Esther and William
Being born 13 weeks too soon their immune system is not as strong as it could be
They are classed as having Chronic Lung Disease because of their early dependency on oxygen
Coughs and colds could be a real danger to them
Fevers can lead to hospital visits
And that is before we get to something even more serious
Like RSV and Flu
When Esther and William first came home from hospital
It was the season for colds and flu and RSV
Esther and William were immunised monthly
To protect them from the worst strains of RSV
Now they are vaccinated against the flu
It is not a needle but a nasal spray
I think it is really important that they are protected from the flu
Because of their prematurity
And Esther’s tendency to have convulsions
Fevers are always frightening
Flu can be devastating
I would never tell anyone what choices they should make for their children
But I am grateful to those protecting their children
Because they are also protecting mine
Children may not always suffer from the flu themselves
But they can be responsible for spreading the virus to others
More vulnerable others
Did you know that “vaccinating even 30% of the UK’s children aged 2-17 years against the flu could save 2,000 lives every year, and stop 11,000 people having to go to hospital”
I often hear people talking about the flu
Saying that they have it
When in reality what they have is a very bad cold
Flu is so much more as this video clearly shows
To explain more about flu and the importance of immunisation
A new documentary is now available, commissioned by AstraZeneca
Hosted by Dr Ranj Singh, paediatrician and TV presenter
The documentary follows him on his quest
To find out whether people will take up the offer now that a world leading flu immunisation programme
That provides free flu vaccine to all healthy children, is on offer in the UK
I had already decided before watching the rather lovely Dr Ranj to vaccinate my children.
I wonder, do you vaccinate yours?
Does seeing a video such as this one influence your decision or make you change your mind?
Has the video taught you anything about the flu that you did not already know?
I must admit I had not realised the severity of flu and the effects it can have on healthy people
I had not realised that people can die from flu
I think I am one of the people who had thought I have had flu but now, since having premature babies and now watching this video, I am fairly certain that I have never had influenza
I also now have a much better understanding of why children need to be vaccinated every year and why they should be immunised at all
I really like the use of paint to illustrate to children the spread of germs, how easy it is and so also illustrating why we are always asking them to wash their hands
I make Esther and William wash their hands and use hand gel all the time, especially when they are coming home from school, straight to Baby Bea
I love the message that fighting flu is a global collaboration involving vaccination and good hygiene habits
I hope that the fight against flu can work
Flu hits hard and spreads fast but we can fight it together
Together we can stop it spreading so far, we can stop people becoming ill, suffering complications and dying from flu
Flu is not just a rotten cold
Flu is so much more
Do you know what you need to know about flu?
Make sure you do
Before you wish you had known
This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own