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 not 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