As a parent of three wonderful young daughters, I am asking myself many questions at the moment.  Not least that of what would I do if one of them contracted swine flu.  Would I trust Tamiflu or would they be better off without it?  That question comes all the harder, in light of today’s events.

After living through the debate over the safety of the MMR ‘triple injection’ in one jab and whether that was safe, with contrary evidence arriving almost monthly contradicting the previous finding, swine flu is now the question on parents lips.

What we know is that swine flu places the youngest in society at greatest risk, (under 12), far more so than it does adults and pensioners, hence leading parents wanting to act to protect their children.  Whilst Tamiflu does not prevent or cure Swine Flu it is supposed to lessen the duration by 24 hours and prevent the highest temperature excesses, which anything which helps our children, we would all want to do.

However research for the British Medical Journal, (BMJ), today states that Children should not be treated with Tamiflu as it can do more harm than good.  Researchers analysed studies involving children aged between one and 12 taking either Tamiflu or Relenza. The study found that the anti-viral drug can cause vomiting, which may lead to dehydration and other complications. Tamiflu was also found to have little or no effect when treating asthma flare-ups or ear infections.

This follows on after a recent study which found children given Tamiflu were reported to be suffering side-effects such as nausea and nightmares.

So as a parent I am very very unsure about giving my children medicine which is currently being touted by some specialists as ineffective and also some saying it will make my children worse!

This begs several questions. 

If it has no positive effects for children, can the same be said for adults?

Why have the government ordered so much stock of Tamiflu when it is proven to be ineffective?

Are tax payers again footing the bill for yet more wasteful, ill thought out, Government expenditure?

So, turning our attention away from TamiFlu….what hope for the Swine Flu H1N1 vaccine.  Rush produced!  Rush tested!  Little time to see effects on humans!  Will this have side effects?  Can the Government guarantee it doesn’t?  Do we trust them?  When initial vaccine stocks are available in batch one, (half the population), late this year, would I want to vaccinate my children in that first unproven batch…..or better to wait for the next batch…or would that be too late if the winter epidemic takes hold?

Tough times to be a parent and take the best decisions for your children.  I wish I could trust in what this Government says but it makes it impossible when it is addicted to spin and lying……