Redness Or Swelling At The Injection Site
Anytime you pierce the skin and put something into the body it can cause a topical reaction, says Dr. Adalja. This is just a sign that your immune system is activating.
But this redness and swelling where you get your shot is a common side effect that only typically lasts a few days. Itll go away on its own, but if its really bugging you, you can take ibuprofen or acetominophen .
Managing Side Effects After Immunisation
Common side effects following immunisation are usually mild and temporary . Specific treatment is not usually required. There are several treatment options that can reduce the side effects of the vaccine including:
- Drinking extra fluids and not overdressing if there is a fever.
- Although routine use of paracetamol after vaccination is not recommended, if pain and fever are present, paracetamol can be given check the label for the correct dose or speak with your pharmacist .
Q: What Is Influenza And How Is It Transmitted
A: Influenza, or the flu as it is commonly called, is a highly contagious respiratory viral illness and is most common during the winter months. Influenza A and B are the major types of flu viruses that infect the body and can cause serious illness, and even death, in people of all ages. When someone with the flu sneezes or coughs, the virus is expelled into the air and may be inhaled by anyone close by.
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Swelling Or Hardness Under The Skin
While swelling and minor bruising can happen after a shot, they usually get better within a day or so. However, if swelling and discoloration persist, it may signify an infection.
Abnormal swelling that feels soft, mushy, and painful may indicate a developing abscess. An abscess is a walled-off collection of pus. It is often warm to the touch and accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes, small bean-shaped glands that are part of the immune system.
You should never squeeze abscesses. That’s because to prevent infection from spreading throughout the body, a healthcare provider must properly drain it. If you try yourself, it could burst under the skin and spread the infection through the bloodstream, causing a potentially life-threatening blood infection known as sepsis.
Signs a bump may be an abscess include:
- The bump oozes: While a bit of drainage following an injection may be expected , a doctor should look at any discolored or abnormal discharge immediately.
- The swelling grows: If the bump is small and you’re not sure if it’s an abscess, take a pen and draw a circle along the border. If it starts to expand beyond the edge or fails to go away in several hours, call a healthcare provider to look at it as soon as possible.
Does This Happen With All Immunizations
It can. Not everyone gets a sore arm from every vaccine, but different factors like how the vaccine is injected matter. An intramuscular shot like the flu, COVID-19, or tetanus shot tends to cause more arm soreness than a subcutaneous vaccine, which just goes under you skin, like the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine , Dr. Schaffner says.
Your body’s individual response also comes into play, Aline Holmes, DNP, NP, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Nursing, tells Health. “It’s really specific to your body,” she says. “A lot of people get shots and have absolutely no reaction to them Others do.”
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Can I Get The Flu From The Flu Vaccine
No, the flu vaccine cannot cause flu. The vaccines either contain inactivated virus, meaning the viruses are no longer infectious, or a particle designed to look like a flu virus to your immune system. While the nasal spray flu vaccine does contain a live virus, the viruses are changed so that they cannot give you the flu.
How To Prevent Arm Pain After A Vaccine
There are a couple of things you can do to lower your chances of having severe pain in your arm from a shot. In addition, you can take certain steps after a vaccine to decrease any pain or discomfort.
Try these tips before and after you get your next vaccine:
1. Relax your arm
Obviously, its normal to tense up a bit when the doctor or nurse pulls out that needle. While it might be easier said than done, the best thing you can do to prevent pain is to simply relax your arm or shoulder before the injection.
If the muscle actually tenses during the injection, that can create more damage, inflammation and discomfort, says Dr. Allan.
Simply take some deep breaths and find a distraction so the additional tension doesnt cause more pain. For children, try and distract them with something so theyre not focusing too much on the needle.
2. Find the right time
If you can help it, try not to schedule a vaccine spontaneously or at the last minute. Its helpful to plan ahead and pick a date when you dont have other items on your schedule.
For example, make sure that you arent scheduling a shot on a day you might need to do strenuous activities. Also, try and avoid getting your shot in the arm you use the most that way, you can let your injected arm relax and heal with no worries.
3. Take OTC pain relievers beforehand
4. Apply ice and compression
Wrapping your arm under compression, especially early on, also helps reduce inflammation, notes Dr. Allan.
5. Stretch
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What Is A Flu Vaccine
Influenza vaccines are vaccines that protect against the four influenza viruses that research indicates most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines are flu shots given with a needle, usually in the arm, but there also is also a nasal spray flu vaccine.
Why Does Your Arm Hurt After A Flu Shot Here’s How Experts Explain It
It’s not only because someone just jabbed it with a needle.
Getting your annual flu shot is the first and most important step in protecting yourself and your loved ones against an unavoidable flu season. For the most part, that flu shot comes with only minor side effectsfatigue, headache or muscle aches, a mild feverand they’re much more manageable than getting the flu itself.
Another side effect from the flu vaccinearguably the most common oneis pain, swelling, or redness where the shot was given. On the surface, it makes sense: Of course you’ll have arm pain if you get a flu shot in your arm. But is your arm really supposed to be that sore after a tiny needle delivers the vaccine?
Turns out, there’s a little more to that localized arm pain, according to experts. Here’s why it tends to happen, and what you can do to lessen the discomfort, both before and after the jab.
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Is There More Than One Type Of Flu Shot Available
Yes. There are different flu vaccine manufacturers and multiple influenza vaccine products licensed and recommended for use in the United States.
CDC recommends use of any licensed, age-appropriate influenza vaccine during the 2021-2022 influenza season. Available influenza vaccines include quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine , recombinant influenza vaccine , or live attenuated influenza vaccine . No preference is expressed for any influenza vaccine over another.
Quadrivalent flu vaccines include:
Who Can Get The Flu Vaccine
An annual flu vaccination is provided through the National Immunisation Program for most people in the community who are at an increased risk of serious complications.
In Victoria, an annual vaccination against influenza is free for:
- children aged 6 months to less than 5 years
- people who have medical conditions that put them at risk of serious complications of influenza
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from 6 months and over
- pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy
- people 65 years and over.
Contact your doctor or immunisation provider for further information about eligibility. People not covered by these categories can also have an annual flu immunisation, but it is not available for free.
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Rare Side Effects Of The Flu Vaccine
There is a very small risk of a serious allergic reaction to any vaccine. This is why you are advised to stay at the clinic or medical surgery for at least 15 minutes following vaccination in case further treatment is required.
Apart from anaphylaxis, other extremely rare side effects include in children.
A small increase in Guillain-Barré syndrome was seen in the US in 1976, but since that time, surveillance has shown that it is limited to one case for every million doses of influenza vaccine, if at all.
If any other reactions are severe and persistent, or if you are worried, contact your doctor for further information.
Treatment For Shoulder Tendonitis From A Vaccine
In mild cases, a medical professional will perform a physical examination and often prescribe a course of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If the injured person is still suffering from a limited range of motion, a course of physical therapy will be recommended. Physical therapy will usually be prescribed two to three times per week for a course of around three months. If physical therapy is not beneficial, an orthopedic surgeon may recommend corticosteroid injections. These steroid injections, also known as Cortisone injection, have the ability to relieve inflammation in some instances. In severe cases, other treatment options include surgery. The damage to the shoulder capsule or subacromial bursa could be substantial enough to require removal of the bursa or repair of ruptured tendons.
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What Are The Types Of Flu Vaccines
Two types of flu vaccine are available for the 20202021 flu season. Both protect against the four types of influenza virus that are causing disease this season::
- the flu shot, which is injected with a needle
- the nasal spray, a mist which gets sprayed into the nostrils
In the past, the nasal spray vaccine wasn’t recommended for kids because it didn’t seem to work well enough. The newer version appears to work as well as the shot. So either vaccine can be given this year, depending on the child’s age and general health.
The nasal spray is only for healthy people ages 249. People with weak immune systems or some health conditions and pregnant women should not get the nasal spray vaccine.
How To Minimize Arm Pain After Getting The Flu Shot
These tips should help to lessen the soreness at the injection site.
Flu season is almost here, and with the added concern of the COVID-19 virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommend that everyone who is 6 months old and older get the flu vaccine.
Some people may hesitate to get the flu vaccine because they believe the flu shot will give them the flu or because theyre afraid of the pain that comes with getting shots. While taking the sting out of the injection entirely may not be possible for many people, there are ways to minimize the pain both during and after the injection.
First, its important to understand why your arm hurts after the flu vaccine. The most obvious factor is that the vaccine introduces a needle into the arm muscle and injects fluid into it.
But its not just the needle thats bothersome. For some vaccine recipients, there is swelling and pain at or near the injection site for a couple of days after receiving the shot. This reaction is considered to be a good sign by doctors.
The reason why your arm specifically is sore is that your immune system is giving you a robust response to the flu vaccination,Dr. Juanita Mora told the American Lung Associations blog, Every Breath.
The good news is that you can help reduce the discomfort from the flu shot by taking a few simple actions.
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The Vaccine Cant Give You Flu
You cant get the flu from the flu jab. The flu vaccine doesnt contain any live viruses so it cant give you flu.
It takes up to twoweeks for the body to develop protection against flu.If youve been infected with the flu before or soon after having the vaccine, you can still get the flu. If these symptoms continue or get worse, talk to your healthcare provider or callHealthline on
Does This Affect My Preventive Care Plan
The most important thing, Dr. Dean says, is that patients maintain their preventive care plan for breast cancer, especially mammogram screenings.
The Society of Breast Imaging recommends scheduling your mammogram either before your first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or about four to six weeks following your second dose, if possible. If thats not possible, though, its important to keep both your scheduled screening and your vaccine appointment.
Well work with you to explain whats going on, what we see and what might be a side effect, Dr. Dean adds. And if theres potential overlap, you can schedule a short-term follow-up screening for a few weeks later just to be safe.
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Itching At The Injection Site Or A Full
This would signal an allergic reaction, but its very rare to have an allergic reaction to the flu shot, Dr. Adalja notes. There are lots of myths about egg allergies and the vaccine,” he explainsbecause most flu shots and nasal sprays are manufactured using technology that involves small amounts of egg proteins, per the CDC.
“If you can eat scrambled eggs, youre not going to have a problem with the flu shot, Dr. Adalja says. If you have a confirmed egg allergy, you can likely still get the shot, the CDC says.
The caveat: If you experience severe itching at injection site, a rash all over your body, or signs of anaphylactic shock, seek immediate medical attention. And if youve had an allergic reaction to the flu shot in the past, you are among those few groups of people who the CDC recommends skip the flu shot.
Before Getting The Vaccine
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What Are The Symptoms Of Sirvaand How Is It Treated
While dull muscle ache pain after a vaccine injection is common, it usually disappears on its own with days. With SIRVA, on the other hand, an individual will usually start feeling pain within 48 hours of the vaccination, and doesnt improve.
“In patients who experience SIRVA, months may pass by, and patients will still complain of increasing pain, weakness, and impaired mobility in the injected arm. Simple actions like lifting your arm to brush your teeth can cause pain,” said Kelly Grindrod, a professor in the School of Pharmacy at Waterloo and one of the authors of the 2018 study.
People experiencing these symptoms should talk to their doctor. “It’s important that we learn to recognize these signs of SIRVA so that we can access appropriate treatment,” Grindrod points out.
In order to diagnose SIRVA, an ultrasound scan is needed, which can also determine the level and type of damage. Inflammation reducing oral medications and corticosteroid injections to the shoulder are common treatments for SIRVA, and additionally, physiotherapy may be recommended.
Why Do Some People Not Feel Well After Getting A Flu Shot
Flu vaccine side effects are generally mild and go away on their own within a few days. Some side effects that may occur from a flu shot include soreness, redness, and/or swelling where the shot was given, headache , fever, nausea, muscle aches, and fatigue. The flu shot, like other injections, can occasionally cause fainting.
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How Effective Is The Flu Vaccine
The flu vaccine gives the best protection against flu.
Flu vaccines help protect against the main types of flu viruses, although there’s still a chance you might get flu.
If you do get flu after vaccination, it’s likely to be milder and not last as long.
Having the flu vaccine will also stop you spreading flu to other people who may be more at risk of serious problems from flu.
It can take 10 to 14 days for the flu vaccine to work.
I Just Got The Flu Shot Why Does My Arm Hurt
Influenza, or the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by a viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs. The virus travels from person to person through infectious droplets expelled from the nose or mouth, but chances of contracting the virus decrease between 40-60% with the administration of a flu shot. Some individuals suffer pain following vaccination, but there are ways to lower the likelihood of experiencing flu shot pain.
Many people experience pain after receiving the vaccination. Flu shot pain is the sensory response to the immune systems process of producing antibodies and developing immunity, which is what prevents a vaccinated individual from contracting the disease.
With general fear of muscle pain and as much as 10% of the US population suffering from a fear of needles, many people shy away vaccination each year. Pain, however, is minimal and should not last more than a few days. Although it might seem unavoidable, there are some ways to reduce the risk of shoulder pain and muscle soreness following vaccination.
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