I get the flu jab to help protect myself
Yasmeen, 25, has severe asthma and gets her flu jab every year. She tells us why it’s important to her to get it every autumn.
I was diagnosed with asthma in childhood, but at 18 got diagnosed with severe asthma. I’m 25 now and have been getting my flu jab for the past 5 or 6 years. I found I was getting quite unwell with my asthma during the winter and it really scared me, so I decided to start getting my flu jab to help protect myself.
Flu caused a bad exacerbation of my asthma
I’ve had flu once and it caused a bad exacerbation of my asthma, so really didn’t want that to happen again.
I usually get my flu jab done at my workplace (I’m a registered nurse), although occasionally I get it at my GP surgery. It’s normally around October or November and it’s always a very easy process, as they come round at work and offer it to us.
There’s a hub at my hospital that you can walk into at any time to get your flu jab, and on my ward we have ‘flu champions’.
All my family get their flu jab every year and so do my work colleagues. My friends don’t, though.
The benefits outweigh the negatives
If I was speaking to someone else with a lung condition who wasn’t sure whether to get their flu vaccine, I’d say that the benefits outweigh the negatives. If you catch flu and have an asthma attack, you’ll be much worse off than if you’d just gone to get your flu jab. This would have helped prevent it.
I’ve never really had any side effects either – just a bit of an achy arm.
I think people need to be much more educated on how bad flu can really be for some people. Lots of people think getting flu is like having a cold. But it can be very serious, especially for people like me with a lung condition – people need to know the facts.
I’ve had conversations at work with some of my patients about the flu jab. Some don’t want to get it, but I tell them the facts and how much it would benefit them.
Find out more about the flu vaccine and how it can protect you this winter.
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