Flu Jab at chemist?

I had mine free at Lloyds (chemist not the bank) and it was very straightforward and painless, a vast improvement on the previous year when a GP jabbed my arm without even swabbing it - result: a painful red swelling which lasted several weeks.

I have everything that is going in order to keep myself as healthy as possible.

Our parents never had the knowledge or availability of all the things on offer to our generation. I think we are the lucky ones.

Have felt better in the winter knowing that I am very unlikely to get 'flu. I'd recommend having it.

I had two flu jabs with no problems, the third one, my arm swelled up, my eyes and throat were itching like mad - had to take antihistimines.

GP said I can't have it again - so I have to take my chances - fed up about it because I'm a believer in vaccinations.

Our village pharmacy offered it this year, but I had already made my appointment for the Medical Centre's day ni the Village Hall - my appointment was for 11:06 - love the precision of that!

feetlebaum - hope you don't have to wait until 12.06

A manager at our practice made appointments one minute apart on a Saturday morning last year. The car park was gridlocked and it was a disaster!

I pay for the flu I had one last year and this.
I got a Job in mothercare last year after spending a considerable time "on the dole". I signed up for the vaccine for two reasons, I was on a temporary contract and didn't want to lose my job through absence and, more importantly, kids are just walking Petri dishes of infection, i was never more lightly to contract 'flu in my life!
I go to boots, it's simple and (relatively) painless and not nearly as expensive as I thought. At 52 I'm not eligible for a free vaccine but it's not unreasonable to expect an employee to protect themselves.
I do love my job, minimum wage and hard work but I do think a "granny" had something special to offer.

If you fall in to the catagory where you need a flue jab, Asthma, diabetes etc over 65, please have it done at the surgery, as your GP receives money from the government, for every flue jab, and they need all the help they can get.

I discovered today that there is a shingles jab available to some, dependent upon age. Has anyone had one?

Not sure what the two ages are this year Elrel. You can have the jab at chemists in America; thought about having one when I was on holiday last year but didn't in case I had a reaction to it. My doctor said that just getting out and about and meeting lots of people keeps your immunity up, but I'd rather have the jab if I could. I do want to have the pneumonia one as soon as I'm allowed it though.

I like a lot of others (63) dont qualify for free jab but when i asked the nurse at my local practise she advised against it i have a serious allergy to penicillin and she said there was no penicillin in jab but couldn't be sure that the line it was made on was free from penicillin so i'll just take my chances.
Because of allergy i tend to contact surgery about most things they are always helpful.

I'm the right age for flu jab but never intend having one. I don`t believe in pumping something into my body I don`t need. My mother lived to a rip old age of 93 and never had the jab and I intend to do the same.

We used to allow 5 minutes per patient but the nurses were so fast we changed it to 2; however you still need someone to do the paperwork and the patient still has to sit and wait for a few minutes afterwards. It's one thing having a bad reaction to the jab and not having it again, or having an allergy and avoiding it due to that, but to not have it for no reason means that you depend on other people having it to prevent an epidemic. Having said that, when I worked for the NHS it turned out that I was one of the only staff members that did have it although all of the doctors did.

DEFINITELY get the jab! I'm currently laying in hospital recovering from pneumonia following a very severe bout of the flu - not a heavy cold, I've been REALLY ill, and will definitely have the jab next year.

Hope you recover soon NudeJude.
As we age our immune systems change. We tend to get fewer stinking colds but the part of the immune system that operates in the lungs gets weaker and leaves us more susceptible to pneumonia. So even people who "never get colds" can suddenly get a virus (often influenza) that turns into pneumonia.
Last year there was a "flu like illness" circulating. A bit less severe than true influenza because it was not caused by the influenza virus. It was the first time I'd had a bad virus for years . It reminded me that flu winter viruses can really trash a month of your life.

Well I'm convinced after reading all replies. I shall be popping in to the chemist this week for my flu jab.

There is now a vaccine to prevent pneumonia, I had this three weeks ago alongside the flu jab.my arm ached so much & felt so heavy that I had to wear a sling & the affects didn't disappear for about three days, not at all pleasant. The nurse at the surgery had minimalised the side affects !

The pneumonia jab should only be done every 10 years.

I've never had a 'flu jab. I do qualify because of my age, but I'm not sure about how effective it is. Things like this article put me off. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11393560/Flu-jab-given-to-millions-is-useless.html

I had my flu jab at the nurses station last week when I went for a BP check. I qualified some years ago as a carer for both my parents to protect them more than anything else however they have both passed away now. AT 61 I didn't think I would be able to have it but the nurse checked and I was still on the list so she gave me it - in fact she said she didn't know how to remove me :-) I've never had a reaction to it and would recommend everyone to have it especially if you do look after others. My husband has sleep apnoea and is actually categorised as having breathing problems so also qualifies.

Trisher it is worth considering, specially as you get a little older.
Every year the World Health Organisation researches the main strains of influenza in circulation and decides on the particular virus strains that should be in the next version of the flu vaccine.
The one we get is based on the types of flu that have been circulating in the S Hemisphere during their last winter.
Sometimes the viruses that circulate here are identical to the ones in the vaccine, in which case it gives very good protection. Other years the overlap of varieties is not so good, which happened last year.
It's a bit like wearing a seat belt really - they don't save lives/prevent serious injuries in every car crash, but they protect a lot of the people, a lot of the time. Just because they are not 100% protection is not a good reason to not use them.
We have not had a major epidemic for several years - since swine flu 2009 -10. That was an unusual one because a lot of older people seemed immune, possibly because there was a similar epidemic when we were younger. It killed hundreds of thousands around the world, some of them pregnant women. At the time my son was having cancer treatment that completely obliterated his immune system for a while - I remember we were all pretty anxious. By having a jab we can avoid passing on flu to relatives, friends and vulnerable people in the community.

But if there is evidence that we develop immunities by having different strains of flu when we are younger is there not the possibility that all flu vaccine is doing is leaving people vulnerable to rarer strains and that what might happen is that resistant strains will become more common?

Having just over having a very sudden bout of pneumonia, I'm unsure whether I should have the flu jab and or the pneumonia jab this year... Opinions, oh and I'm hypothyroid too? Thanks for any input

um, rather a long sentence trisher The influenza virus is very variable and keeps evolving rapidly. It picks up genes from bird and pig flu viruses to help this rapid change.
The immune system is very specific. It learns its immunity one virus at a time. There is little evidence that immunity to strains 1-50 would give you any protection about the next 50 to come along.
Colds are similar, which why we never completely stop catching the darn things.
No reason at all to think one is more vulnerable to new strains - just still vulnerable.
essdee that sounds miserable but if I was you I'd be having a chat with your doctor asap. On the face of it, flu is the last thing you need just now. There are several different kinds of pneumonia - discuss the vaccine with your GP.