Swine flu (SORRY) - taking little-uns on a plane

I read in the paper yesterday they are not sure the 6 year old girl did die from Swine Flu, the autopsy blamed resporatory problems.

I can't really advise you as I don't have kids and don't know enough about swine flu. Its easy for me to say but I'd rather have a holiday at a small risk than stay at home tBH.

You can catch it anywhere- I know planes are hotbeds for it (I always pick upa sniffle after a flight) but is it more high risk than say the tube, which millions travel on every day? (then go home and spread germs about)

You could consider somewhere you can drive to- France maybe?

They could just as easily catch it anywhere. I seriously wouldn't be putting mine and my whole families lives on hold for what is (for the majority of people) an illness that is not actually as bad as normal flu!

No, plenty of people out there are reacting dis-proportionately. The risks - even to the young - are pretty minimal, and I've yet to see anything suggesting air travel increases your chances of contracting H1N1.

My son has sf at the moment.

He's had a rotten week but he's on the mend.

I've no idea where he got it from as neither my H or I are ill as of yet - probably not nursery (as apparently he's their first case). Maybe when he went out swimming and for lunch with his Auntie. Maybe from the Ocado man. Maybe from a brief trip to the park...

I wouldn't change my plans on the basis of sf, it's too widespread to avoid all possible contacts now.

What everyone else said. We're going abroad in October, i'm not intending to change my plans and i'm fully expecting there still to be swine flu at that point. The only time we'll change plans is if one of us gets it just before we go, i'm praying to god that doesn't happen.

We fly out on Wednesday and the flight time is almost 9 hours. I'm a little nervous about it due to her asthma and have tried to keep her out of crowded places as much as possible. However, as a family we really need this holiday, so I'm trying really hard not to think about it to much. I won't be changing our plans (unless of course we get ill in the next week) but I am a little nervous. I figure that the risks are no more than taking her into town amongst many more people who could have it. I have cold and flu stuff packed, and know that they have good medical care where we're going so I'm reassured by that.

I think there's just as much chance catching it from going to the shops, or a play centre or pretty much anywhere!

If you're that worried maybe stick to somewhere with a good medical system, and check that your health insurance covers all eventualities.

Neither of the 'perfectly healthy' children reported last week to have 'died of swine flu' did not. The little girl had complications and the little boy from Kent didn't even have it. But correcting previous shock-headlines isn't quite so newsworthy funnily enough.

We're going away in 9days time and have a 12 hour flight to contend with. We're also off camping with the scouts this weekend as someone esle said before I'm not going to put my life on hold for this. Yes I'm nervous as my son has asthma and I suppidly 'forgot' to get his annual flu jab booster last year but can not and will not let this stop us doing what we normally as as a family

I'm off in a few weeks and it won't stop me. I'm also back in the Uk in Sept and it won't stop me then. Of course I worry about my 3 year old but we need to put everything into perspective. I worry about her everyday, catching somthing or other like meningitis but that's not going to stop me getting on the plane, is it?

My daughter had her three year check up last week. I threw a few questions to her re swine flu , obviously she said what everyone says, that they have no idea how this strain will be in a year or two but at the mo it's no worse than normal flu. If you read up on seasonal flu , you'll be just as petrified. Go and get some sun and beach and enjoy yourselves. Have fun!

We had exactly this worry this week and contrary to everyone else we did cancel our plans. However, it was because we were going to Spain just for a weekend with ILs, I am pregnant and our 2.5 year old has had pneumonia twice in less than 12 months plus been hospitalised several times in the same period with bronchiolitis and really bad tonsilitis. One of her pneumonias was caused by ordinary flu and I am completely paranoid about her having yet more breathing problems. We were worried by the garbled advice from the govt but were mostly swayed by my dad (an airline pilot) who explained how airline A/C systems work and said he wouldn't be going in our situation.

I don't think our reaction was rational and am half regretting it now though! Had Matilda not been so ill so many times we would have accepted the risk and gone I think.

Out of interest, how do they work??

It was reassuring in some ways and not in others. The way I understood it is that air is drawn in from outside and mixed with warm air bled from the engine, as otherwise it would be too cold. There are filters in place to stop oil from the air from the engines getting into the air in the cabin, but that is all they do. They are not disinfectant in any way or there to try and filter germs out of the air, just to stop you breathing in oil. The A/C is compartmentalised though so you are not sharing air with the whole cabin, just two or three rows of people.

That's interesting thanks, I was under the impression that it was the whole cabin who shared recycled air. Actually reassuring that it's only 20 or so people as opposed to over 200?