If your GP invites you for a flu jab this year, please make a date and go.
That’s the message of this year’s flu campaign as GPs begin sending letters to hundreds of patients urging them to take up the free vaccination.
Elderly people, people with chronic illnesses or damaged immune systems as well as pregnant women are all being targeted this year and reminded that, for them, flu can cause serious complications.
Flu can be a very unpleasant illness, lasting a week to ten days. Symptoms include a fever, shivering, severe muscle pains and a headache. It may also cause a nasty cough, sore throat and a stuffy nose. If you do catch flu, stay at home, keep warm, get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.
However, if an older person or someone who already has a serious health condition catches flu they can easily end up in hospital with bronchitis or pneumonia. There’s a much higher risk of them developing serious complications from the virus and it can even kill certain individuals.
The vaccine can’t and doesn’t give you flu and it can’t completely prevent people from catching flu but it is the best protection against becoming seriously ill or passing the virus on to others who are unable to fight it easily.
Pregnant women will be told about the vaccine by their midwives as flu in pregnancy can increase the chance of developing complications.
The flu virus spreads through coughs, sneezes and touch. If you cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough and sneeze, bin the tissue as soon as possible and wash your hands as soon you can you'll stop the virus spreading and reduce the risk of other people catching it.
http://www.bwd.nhs.uk/public-health/seasonal-advice/keep-warm-and-safe-this-winter/seasonal-flu/?locale=en
