Cymraeg
 
Keep Well
 
Keeping yourself as fit and healthy as you can is important all year round, but your lifestyle can make even more of a difference when it comes to keeping well in Winter. Below you can find out the best way to avoid catching colds and flu this winter, including information about at risk groups, the seasonal flu vaccination and swine flu.
 
Eating well and staying active during the Winter months can also help you to stay healthy - click here to find out more.
 
Avoid catching colds and flu
 
As you know, colds and flu spread very easily. It's worth following some simple hygeine measures to reduce your risk of catching and spreading infections:
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
  • Throw away used tissues as soon as possible
  • Wash your hands regularly with soap and water
  • Stock up on over-the-counter cough and cold remedies
 
Flu - Protect yourself and others

 
You may have heard a lot recently about different sorts of flu virus, including seasonal flu and swine flu. The information that follows explains the differences between them; who is more likely to be affected by seasonal flu; and why it is very important that people should still have their free seasonal flu vaccination.

Click here to download a copy of the new 'Seasonal Flu - Why you should have the vaccination' leaflet produced by the Welsh Assembly Government and NHS Wales
 
What is Seasonal Flu?
 
Seasonal flu is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It occurs every year, usually in the winter. The most likely viruses can be identified in advance and vaccines are then produced that closely match them. Vaccination is available to help protect people who are more at risk.
 
What harm can seasonal flu do?
 
For fit and healthy people seasonal flu canrange from having symptoms similar to a cold to developing more serious illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia, which may need hospital treatment. If people already have a serious disease, flu can be much worse. People sometimes think a bad cold is the flu, but having flu is often much worse than a cold: symptoms include fever, chills, headache, aching muscles, cough and sore throat. And because flu is a virus, antibiotics won’t treat it.
 
Some people are more susceptible to the effects of seasonal flu. For them it can increase the risk of more serious illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia, or can make existing conditions worse. In the worst cases, seasonal flu can result in a stay in hospital, or even death. If you are at an increased risk from seasonal flu it is important that you have your seasonal flu vaccination. The vaccines are normally available from the beginning of October, but this depends on manufacturing.
 
Arrange to see your GP or practice nurse, or alternatively your local pharmacist, in the autumn and get the best possible protection.
 
 
Are you at greater risk from the effects of seasonal flu?
 
Even if you feel healthy, you should definitely consider having the free seasonal flu vaccination if you have:
 
  • a heart problem
  • a chest complaint or breathing difficulties, including bronchitis and emphysema
  • a kidney disease
  • lowered immunity due to disease or treatment (such as steroid medication or cancer treatment)
  • a liver disease
  • had a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
  • diabetes
  • a neurological condition, e.g. multiple sclerosis (MS) or cerebral palsy
  • a problem with, or the removal of, your spleen, e.g. sickle cell disease.
     
You should also have the seasonal flu vaccination if you are aged 65 years or over, live in a residential or nursing home, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person.
 
Paid and unpaid carers are also eligible for the seasonal flu vaccine, so that they stay healthy in order to benefit those they look after.
 
Is there anyone who shouldn't have the vaccination?
 
Most people can have the vaccine, but you should not be vaccinated if you have had a serious allergy to the vaccine in the past, or if you have a serious allergy to hens’ eggs.
 
If you have a fever, it is best to delay the vaccination.
 
A seasonal flu vaccination is your best protection
 
The vaccination will help your body to fight the flu virus. Your body starts making antibodies against the viruses about a week to ten days after the injection. These antibodies help to protect you for a whole year against similar seasonal flu viruses that you may come into contact with.
 
The seasonal flu vaccination will not protect you against:
  • swine flu
  • the common cold
  • other winter viruses.
The seasonal flu vaccine is very safe
 
Some people get a slight temperature and aching muscles for a couple of days afterwards, and your arm may feel a bit sore where you were injected. Any other side effects are rare. Side effects of the vaccination are minor compared with the risks associated with seasonal flu. The vaccine dose not contain any live viruses, so it cannot give you flu.
 
 
Will the seasonal flu vaccine protect me completely?
 
Most people who have the seasonal flu vaccination will not get seasonal flu. However, like any vaccine, it does not give 100 per cent protection. Out of every 100 people who have the vaccine, 70 to 80 will be protected, while the others are more likely to get milder symptoms.
 
If you remain at increased risk of seasonal flu in the future, you should have the seasonal flu vaccination every year. Because the viruses change every year, the seasonal flu that is around this year will be sufficiently different from last year’s to make people ill even if they had the vaccination last year. New vaccines are produced each year because they need to be changed to match the latest version of the virus in order to best protect you.
 
What to do next
 
If you belong to one of the groups mentioned in this leaflet (and you are not allergic to hens’ eggs, to the vaccine, or to one of its ingredients), speak to your GP or practice nurse about being vaccinated. Alternatively, you can get advice from your local pharmacist or see page 7 for further information.
 
It is best to have the seasonal flu vaccination in the autumn before any outbreak of seasonal flu. Remember that you need it every year, so don’t assume that you don’t need another vaccination because you had one last year.
 
How is swine flu different from seasonal flu?
 
Swine flu is a completely new virus to which very few people are likely to have immunity and it may affect more people than seasonal flu. It might become more serious. The seasonal flu vaccination does not protect against swine flu. The vaccine to protect against swine flu will be available later in the winter and the details of the programme will be discussed as supplies become available. The first supplies of vaccine will be used on the following groups:
  • people aged six months and up to 65 years of age in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups
  • all pregnant women (depending on the licence for the vaccine)
  • household contacts of immunocompromised people
  • people aged 65 years and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups.
     
You may be offered this as well as the seasonal flu vaccine because both vaccines can be given at the same time. A separate information leaflet will be provided to advise about this new vaccination.