Heading to a festival this year? Check out the advice from Public Health
MMR
- MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
- The MMR vaccine gives long-term protection against measles, mumps and rubella.
- These 3 infections spread easily between people and can lead to serious problems including meningitis, blindness and hearing loss.
- Being up to date with MMR before attending festivals is important because these diseases spread very quickly and can make you seriously ill.
- 2 doses of the MMR vaccine gives you long-term protection. Protection starts within 2 weeks of having the MMR vaccine.
- Anyone who is unsure about their vaccine status can check with their GP practice to see if they are up to date and fully protected.
- Ideally, you should have any vaccines you have missed at least 2 weeks before the festival to ensure best protection.
- After 2 doses or MMR around 99% of people will be protected against measles and rubella and around 88% of people will be protected against mumps but if you do get it the symptoms will be much milder.
Pertussis
- Whooping cough – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
- Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems.
- Initial symptoms resemble a common cold which can progress to include coughing fits, choking spells, and vomiting after coughing.
- The risk of severe complications is highest in young babies; nearly 90% of the deaths from pertussis in the last 10 years have been in infants aged 3 months or less who can’t be fully protected by immunisation.
- In adults, the symptoms can be less severe but it’s a very unpleasant illness.
- Pertussis is spread by coughing and sneezing. An infected person can pass the infection to other people for 21 days from the onset of their symptoms if not treated with appropriate antibiotics.
- If whooping cough is diagnosed within 3 weeks of the infection, you’ll be given antibiotics to help stop it spreading to others. Antibiotics may not reduce symptoms.
- If you have whooping cough, you’re contagious from about 6 days after the start of cold-like symptoms to 3 weeks after the coughing starts. You should stay off work/school and avoid busy places such as festivals until 48 hours after starting antibiotics or 3 weeks after your symptoms started if you haven’t had antibiotics.
- The whooping cough vaccine protects babies and children from getting whooping cough. If you’re pregnant you should also have the whooping cough vaccine – ideally between 16 and 32 weeks.
Infectious Diseases
- Information to be added to ‘Festival Safe’ website under wellbeing around attending with bad coughs/colds/temperature
- Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infections of parts of the body involved in breathing, such as the sinuses, throat, airways or lungs. Most RTIs get better without treatment, but sometimes you may need to see a GP.
- Symptoms of an RTI include a cough, sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, headaches, muscle aches, breathlessness, tight chest or wheezing, a high temperature, feeling generally unwell
- Most RTIs pass within 1 to 2 weeks.
- You can usually treat your symptoms yourself:get plenty of rest
- drink lots of water to loosen any mucus and make it easier to cough up
- drink a hot lemon and honey drink to help soothe a cough gargle with warm salty water if you have a sore throat
- raise your head up while sleeping using extra pillows to make breathing easier and clear your chest of mucus
- use painkillers to bring down a fever and help ease a sore throat, headaches and muscle pain