4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[chickencam]

We had a letter from ED's school yesterday saying that she is now eligible for these jabs under the catch up scheme.

 

I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge good or bad about this.

[Chucky Mama]

My 13 year old had them last term (or the term before). I always get the heebie jeebies when new vaccines come out (got my 2 middle children vaccinated for MMR quite late as needed reassurance after the media bun fight). My OH reassured me that it looked safe. It is given in 2 doses and is quite painful by all accounts. I was told this by someone else and DD confirmed it - she did get a very mean nurse the first time though and was fine for the second. No ill effect afterwards other than the standard slightly sore arm.

[ChirpyChirpyCheepCheep]

Hello Chickencam

 

My ED (18) was given a leaflet from her school. Having read through the leaflet she and I decided that she would go ahead with the three injections.

 

We made appointments with our surgery nurse and ED has just had her third and final injection. She had no side affects other than a slight sore arm where injection was given.

 

The leaflet explains that the injections are not cover for all cervical cancers.

 

I can ask my ED if she still has the leaflet.

 

Chirpy

[laurmurf]

Hi, there was a long thread about this when the letters came out last year. My ED had them and YD is about to get them.

 

I would drag them in to the front of the queue if I had to but luckily they're as keen to have them as I am!

[Hen Watch]

Hi,

 

This is where all the info is on the cervical cancer (HPV) jabs for girls:

 

http://www.immunisation.nhs.uk/Vaccines/HPV

 

I'll tell you how we get on tomorrow. Eldest daughter has her first of three jabs tomorrow morning. We discussed it and although she hates jabs, she decided to go ahead.

 

I have to confess to a small niggle at the back of my mind that this is relatively new, but I am more swayed by the hope that whilst it only covers just 2 of the many HPV types that this is still protection worth having. Decisions are so hard and it's difficult to know just what to do.

 

Fingers crossed for her for tomorrow.

[ClaireG]

Having had an abnormal smear, which resulted in me having a colposcopy and laser treatment, i am so pleased this jab is now available. If i had a daughter i would be persuading her to have the jab.

[Alis girls]

Mean nurse! OOh thats not me I'm a softie and all the teenagers come back to me as I'm gentle and tell them piercing hurts a lot more and it does. But dont do Cervical cancer jab. i also had abnormal cells in my 20's and woudlve had jab if one had been around. mean nurses ...... i am speechless

[craftyhunnypie]

I think it is a wonderful thing having worked in Cytology in the past & seen a 23 year old have a hysterectomy! I have also known 2 people to die of cancer that originally started as an abnormal smear. So I am all for these jabs. I think these jabs protect against H.P.V though, not cervical cancer. H.P.V is a known form of wart virus that tends to lead to cervical cancer. There are obviously other factors that can cause it too.

I admire any parent that allows their daughter to go ahead with these jabs.

 

Emma.x

[ChrisP]

I had these jabs last year at school. the third one made me quite faint, but that day i had to go straight from the jab to a funeral, and I panic at jabs at the best of times, so am putting that down to the extra stress.

All in all, the jabs are fairly painfree, just like normal jabs, and well worth it IMO

[alih]

My YD had hers last year and my ED will have them this year. I'm with Laurie - would drag them to the front of the queue!

[Karen & co.]

Same here alih, ED this year YD in a few years.

 

Because of having been a nurse lots of ED's friends have been ringing me to see if I think it's a good idea I think it just shows how mature they are, and once I said yes then they have all agreed to have it done too

 

Karen x

[Cate in NZ]

I'm a nurse too, and I've administered loads of these vaccines over the past year (although in NZ we're giving Gardisil rather than Cerverex, but pretty much the same thing). My daughter also got invited to have hers and I did do a lot of research first, but you know, I'm convinced, and Immy's had 2 out of the 3 so far, with her final one due in 2 weeks. I think it's a good thing overall, and I'm all up for protecting her against HPV.

 

My other comment...and I have no idea whatsoever on this one, so personal speculation only...BUT what's going to happen to the cervical screening programme long term once all the girls in the "at risk" age groups have been offered the vaccine? It's an expensive, unweildy programme that a significant percentage of women choose not to participate in...the minority for sure, but a significant minority. The UK has already scaled down it's screening programme, starting at 25, 3 yearly until 50, then 5 yearly, all evidence based, but will that be scaled down further in years to come . Seriously, I don't know, but I am cynical....the government and many, many other governments worldwide wouldn't be spending out milloins on huge vaccination programmes like this if they didn't think they could save a buck or 2 somewhere down the line.

 

It's a new vaccine, but the trials looked good, and yes, I am aware just how drug companies can skew results to look favourably on themselves, and the long term efficacy is looking promising. There's an element in risk in anything we do in life and this is a big decision, but overall I'm coming out in favour of the vaccine. Oh, and I recently attended a talk about it as part of a course that I was doing, and the consultant pathologist who gave the talk (he works primarily in cervical cytology, interpreting abnormal smears etc) had not only had his teenaged daughter vaccinated, but he'd paid privately to have his 13 year old son vaccinated and planned to get his younger boy vaccinated too

 

Do research it carefully yourself though before you make the decision.

[bluekarin]

My ED will be having her first one next week. She's a bit nervous. They could have planned it better as they have a whole week of CAT test to do as well! I think it is a good idea. The fact that it protects you from only a few types of the cancer is much better than having absolutely no protection what so ever. I was talking to my friend at the weekend when we were at her house for dinner and ever so slightly embarrassed my ED by saying even though she will have this jab it won't protect her from the other types you can get when you are sexually active. Beetroot is the shade I'd use lol.

[chickencam]

Thanks guys

 

My gut feeling when I first heard about these was to drag her to the front of the queue, then we found outthat she would be in the follow on age group.

 

I was pleased when we got the letter the other day, she is happy to have them, so having done some other reading she will be going ahead.

[PurpleTree]

Oh, and I recently attended a talk about it as part of a course that I was doing, and the consultant pathologist who gave the talk (he works primarily in cervical cytology, interpreting abnormal smears etc) had not only had his teenaged daughter vaccinated, but he'd paid privately to have his 13 year old son vaccinated and planned to get his younger boy vaccinated too

 

Do research it carefully yourself though before you make the decision.

 

I'm not very well up on these jabs, but what will it protect the boys against? Sorry if I'm being a bit dull

[Cate in NZ]

Oh, and I recently attended a talk about it as part of a course that I was doing, and the consultant pathologist who gave the talk (he works primarily in cervical cytology, interpreting abnormal smears etc) had not only had his teenaged daughter vaccinated, but he'd paid privately to have his 13 year old son vaccinated and planned to get his younger boy vaccinated too

 

Do research it carefully yourself though before you make the decision.

 

I'm not very well up on these jabs, but what will it protect the boys against? Sorry if I'm being a bit dull

 

I'm by no means an expert on this, and haven't got the time right now to go and find the links for evidence...but, as I understand HPV lives on a male host. So a significant number of adult males carry HPV, and can transmit it to their female partners. It doesn't live on a female host normally, in fact will often cause a minor problem, but then get beaten & killed off by the woman's immune system. Hands up who's ever had "borderline changes" or koilocytic changes on a smear, only to find that it's all resolved by the time the 6 month repeat smear is done....that's probably been down to HPV infection.

 

Same kind of thing as thrush infections...women are horribly prone to them, some more than others of course, rare in a man, usually a transient infection only for them, because Candida Albicans isn't overly keen on a male host

 

So HPV isn't really an STI, it's a virus that is common to the extent of being normal, carried by men. The STI stuff all comes in with it's favoured mode of transmission.

 

They're currently vaccinating young girls because if they can grab them before they become sexually active and vaccinate them they can give effective protection against the major cancer causing strains of HPV, thus dramatically reducing the chances of them developing cervical cancer in later life. However, if they vaccinate the boys it's not actually doing them any favours, since they don't often suffer serious side effects from HPV (although genital warts are caused by the same virus, infectious & not pretty.) So it'd be an altruistic vaccination for boys...but would potentially stop the spread of the more serious strains of HPV. I heard that some European countries were seriously considering implementing vaccination for boys..Scananavia I think, and the vaccine is licensed for use in teenage boys...however personally I'd be a little more hesitant in offerring it to my lad. But then again, the Rubella component of the MMR is pretty much an altruistic jab for boys...after all german measles only has serious adverse effects on the unborn baby...males, if they get it aren't seriously ill at all themselves.

[Hen Watch]

I'll tell you how we get on tomorrow. Eldest daughter has her first of three jabs tomorrow morning. We discussed it and although she hates jabs, she decided to go ahead.

 

Well, jab number 1 is over and done. Only 2 more to go (one next month and one in 6 months time).

 

Bach's Rescue Remedy taken in advance by my extremely nervous child. The jab was ok and done at 9am this morning. She has the usual side effects in that her arm ached at lunchtime (and still does), and she feels tired. But it went OK.

 

This is not an accurate statistic, but her year group is an intake of 189 pupils. Let's assume the split is 50/50 girls/boys. My daughter says she 'thinks' that only about 5 or so girls in her year declined the jab. I emphasise that she 'thinks' this is how many said no based on the fact that her whole class lined up to have it today. So it sounds as if nearly every girl had it done in her year today. Although I have agreeded to go ahead with this, I am surprised if she is right in her guestimated figures, as I thought a few more than that would decide not to go ahead. But it encourages me that so many have.

[Alis girls]

Did she have a meanie or nice nurse?

[Cinnamon]

Some of those who declined may have already had it at the Doctors too, or may prefer to have it at the Doctors now.

 

From what I gather from my daughters years,its a jab that almost all the pupils seem to be getting, which is reassuring

[Alis girls]

Not all GP's do it, we dont as I dont think we could fit them in due to being very busy and short of space. We are hoping they will do school kids swine flus as it would be pandomonium if we had to do everyone

[Hen Watch]

Did she have a meanie or nice nurse?

 

She had a nice nurse

 

But, what was funny, was I'd contacted the school to have her put at the top of the list to be done. She's a 'fainter' like me and will drop like a stone in the queue just waiting to be done or at the thought of it.

 

School were great, she was done 10 mins after arriving and first ahead of all the other girls. But she had to sit and talk to the nurse in the room whilst she set up buckets full of needles and paraphenalia which set her off. But glad they did it straight off, it really helped.

[Alis girls]

Excellent HW glad she was ok. The last teenage girl I saw for jabs screamed the place down, and I was not mean - I did ask her if she had any piercings and when she said no i told her not to bother as they hurt like hell and I know cos I had my ears done again in May and was a prize wimp