Which Arm To Get Flu Shot

Where Should I Go To Get A Flu Shot

Roper said you can get a flu shot at your doctors office, public health clinics, many pharmacies, and even some grocery stores.

She recommends that everyone has a primary care physician for things like vaccines and common illnesses.

If you have a physician, you can get help when you need it. If you dont have a physician, it can be really difficult to find an appointment when you need one. Just go make an appointment with a physician for a check-up and flu shot so you will have an existing relationship with one where they have your info on file. It could save your life, said Roper.

Why Give Shots In The Arm

While the gluteus maximus in your butt is a very large muscle, there are some advantages to targeting the deltoid muscle in your shoulder.

First, the deltoid has less fat surrounding it than the gluteus maximus. Most vaccinesincluding the flu shotdont work as well when they are injected into fatty tissue. Second, your sciatic nerve runs down your lower back and into your bottom. A health care provider would risk irritating that nerveand causing you debilitating pain called sciaticaif they administered a flu shot to your butt.

Third, its more convenient to administer a flu shot to a bare shoulder than to a bare butt.

Getting The Kroger Flu Shot

Why get the flu vaccine? Not only can it help prevent getting the flu, but if you do get sick, it’ll help ensure you have a milder illness. That’s no small thing, given that every year between 140,000 and 810,000 people get so sick from the flu they have to be hospitalized and 12,000 to 61,000 people die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

Fortunately, flu shots are easy to get nationwide, including all of Kroger Health‘s 2,258 pharmacies in 37 states and 223 “Little Clinics” in nine states.

“This year it is even more important because the flu virus presents in some of the same ways that the Covid-19 virus does,’ says LaTasha Perkins, MD, a practicing family physician in Washington, D.C.

Getting the flu vaccine means you’re less likely to get infected with the flu virus and less likely to have your symptoms confused with Covid-19.

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Exercise Alters Almost All Our Immune Cells

The relationship between exercise and immunity is, in general, well established. Most studies show that being physically active helps protect us against catching colds and other mild, upper-respiratory tract infections. Being fit may also ease the severity of an infection if we do get sick. In a study last year of almost 50,000 Californians who developed Covid, for example, those who had been exercising regularly before their diagnosis were about half as likely to wind up hospitalized as people who rarely worked out.

On the other hand, extreme exercise might undermine our immunity. Marathon runners often report getting sick after races, and lab mice that run to utter exhaustion tend to become more susceptible to the flu than sedentary animals.

Overall, though, exercise appears to offer a potent boost to our immune systems. The behavior of almost all immune cell populations in the bloodstream is altered in some way during and after exercise, a recent review of past research on the topic concluded.

So, it should not be surprising that exercise might also affect vaccine response. In some past studies, performing arm exercises before a flu shot upped the levels of antibodies and specialized immune cells afterward more than sitting quietly. And in a 2020 study, elite competitive athletes in the middle of their training seasons generated more antibodies and immune cells after a flu shot than a control group of healthy young people.

Do I Need The Flu Vaccine If I Am Travelling

Whether or not you are at high risk for the complications of flu, you should consider getting a flu vaccination before travelling overseas because studies have shown that the flu is the most commonly contracted vaccine-preventable disease among international travellers.

• Flu outbreaks have been linked to travellers.
• Certain types of travel where large numbers of people are likely to be in close proximity, such as cruise ship voyages or events that include mass gatherings, are particularly high risk.
• In tropical countries, the flu can occur throughout the year, so vaccination is worthwhile regardless of the season.
• In temperate climates in the northern hemisphere, the flu is more common between the months of December and March.

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What Serious Side Effects Mean I Should Call My Doctor

The flu vaccine will not give you the flu. However, some people do experience side effects. While redness, swelling, muscle aches and sometimes low-grade fevers are typical side effects after receiving an influenza vaccination, there can be some rare and serious side effects including difficulty breathing and swelling around the eyes or lips. If you are experiencing dizziness, a racing heart or a high fever seek medical attention right away.

“If you develop full body hives, you are having an allergic reaction to the vaccine,” says Dr. Mora. The most common allergic reaction is found in people allergic to eggs. This is because egg proteins are one of the products in the flu vaccine. However, if you have an egg allergy, you can still get the flu shot. Talk to your doctor about the best way to get vaccinated.

Who Should Get Vaccinated Against Influenza

Yearly influenza vaccination is recommended for people aged 6 months and over. Anyone who wants to protect themselves against influenza can talk to their immunisation provider about getting vaccinated.

The Australian Immunisation Handbook includes more information about specific groups who should get vaccinated against influenza.

The following people are more at risk of complications from influenza and are eligible for annual influenza vaccination free under the National Immunisation Program:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over
• Children aged 6 months to under 5 years
• Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy
• People aged 65 years or over.
• People aged 6 months or over who have medical conditions that mean they have a higher risk of getting serious disease:
• cardiac disease
• haematological disorders
• children aged six months to 10 years on long term aspirin therapy.

Children under nine years receiving their influenza vaccination for the first time require two doses of vaccine, spaced by a minimum of one month.

In some states and territories, influenza vaccines may also be provided for free to other people not listed above. Speak to your immunisation provider or contact your state or territory Department of Health to find out.

People who are not eligible for a free vaccine can purchase the vaccine from their immunisation provider.

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What To Know About Getting A Flu Shot This Year

Doctors stress that any soreness from the flu shot should be minimal and last only a day or two.

Overall, the flu shot shouldn’t hurt all that much and getting the flu will always be worse than a little bit of soreness.

Experts say that it’s especially important to get the flu vaccine this year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to help rule out the influenza as a possibility in the event a patient gets sick, and also to keep hospitals clear in case coronavirus cases spike.

“This season more than ever, eliminating all possibilities for illness is that much more important,” Deutsch said.

Why Is The Shot Given In Your Arm

Muscle tissue, like that found in your arm, has a high concentration of blood vessels. This allows the cells of your immune system to effectively access and process the contents of the vaccine.

Additionally, a

• acetaminophen

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Flu Shot Tips From A Nurse

Feeling squeamish about getting your annual flu shot? We asked an expert for some advice in making the uncomfortable experience a little bit easier.

Nurse Janet Li-Tall has given thousands of flu shots in her 11 years working at the Occupational Health department of UCLA Health. She likes giving them because it protects the staff and patients, but she acknowledges that its human nature to be afraid of pain.

Here, she offers advice on how to get through the flu shot:

If you are nervous, tell the nurse. She can help distract you by talking and asking questions. When you are telling me about your weekend plans, it distracts you from thinking about the shot, says Li-Tall. If you feel like you are going to faint , you may want to lay down on an exam table to get your vaccine.

Plan your wardrobe. Wear short sleeves so that the health care professional giving you the shot can easily access your upper arm. If you are attending a public flu vaccine event where privacy may be minimal, consider wearing an undershirt in case you have to remove your outer long-sleeve shirt.

Get the injection in your non-dominant arm. Actually, it is your choice which side you choose, but if your arm does get sore youll notice it less in your non-dominant arm. However, if you have a fresh tattoo or a wound in the injection zone, get the shot in the other arm.

Visit www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/flushot.htm for more information on seasonal flu shots.

Muscles Keep The Action Localized

Muscle tissue also tends to keep vaccine reactions localized. Injecting a vaccine into the deltoid muscle may result in local inflammation or soreness at the injection site. If certain vaccines are injected into fat tissue, the chance of irritation and inflammation reaction increases because fat tissue has poor blood supply, leading to poor absorption of some vaccine components.

Vaccines that include the use of adjuvants or components that enhance the immune response to the antigen must be given in a muscle to avoid widespread irritation and inflammation. Adjuvants act in a variety of ways to stimulate a stronger immune response.

Yet another deciding factor in vaccine administration location is the size of the muscle. Adults and children ages three and older tend to receive vaccines in their upper arm in the deltoid. Younger children receive their vaccines mid-thigh because their arm muscles are smaller and less developed.

Another consideration during vaccine administration is convenience and patient acceptability. Can you imagine taking down your pants at a mass vaccination clinic? Rolling up your sleeve is way easier and more preferred. Infectious disease outbreaks, as in flu season or amid epidemics like COVID-19, require our public health system to vaccinate as many people as possible in a short time. For these reasons, a shot in the arm is preferred simply because the upper arm is easily accessible.

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Influenza Vaccine For 2021

Muscles Have Immune Cells

Muscles make an excellent vaccine administration site because muscle tissue contains important immune cells. These immune cells recognize the antigen, a tiny piece of a virus or bacteria introduced by the vaccine that stimulates an immune response. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, it is not introducing an antigen but rather administering the blueprint for producing antigens. The immune cells in the muscle tissue pick up these antigens and present them to the lymph nodes. Injecting the vaccine into muscle tissue keeps the vaccine localized, allowing immune cells to sound the alarm to other immune cells and get to work.

Once a vaccine is recognized by the immune cells in the muscle, these cells carry the antigen to lymph vessels, which transport the antigen-carrying immune cells into the lymph nodes. Lymph nodes, key components of our immune system, contain more immune cells that recognize the antigens in vaccines and start the immune process of creating antibodies.

Clusters of lymph nodes are located in areas close to vaccine administration sites. For instance, many vaccines are injected in the deltoid because it is close to lymph nodes located just under the armpit. When vaccines are given in the thigh, the lymph vessels dont have far to travel to reach the cluster of lymph nodes in the groin.

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How Does The Flu Shot Work

Emily Temple-Wood, DO, family medicine resident at Lutheran General Hospital said, I like to think of the flu shot and vaccines in general as target practice for your body.

Our immune systems are infinitely adaptable, but the main downside is that it takes time for them to learn how to fight different bugs, which means you usually get sick the first time you get exposed to something like the flu, she said. We can hack that system with vaccines, which give your body the information it needs to fight something off without getting you sick.

Antibodies are what the body uses to fight infections, and they get stronger when youve already been exposed to a virus.

So, if youve had the flu shot and get coughed on by someone who has the flu, your immune system has already seen the flu and has practiced killing it. That means that if you get sick at all, itll be less severe, said Temple-Wood.

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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After Getting The Vaccine

While getting a vaccine is never much fun, the protection you receive from the flu shot will help keep your family and community healthy during a challenging flu season.

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:

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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.

It’s A Good Idea To Have Flu Vaccination If You Share A House With Children Who Have Long

Flu vaccination is also recommended for people sharing a house with children and young people with long-term medical conditions. The flu spreads rapidly within households and children are particularly efficient spreaders. It may not be free for household members. You could ask your employer about free or subsidised flu vaccinations, as many employers offer this to employees. Flu vaccination is free for some adults, eg, people over 65 years of age or with certain long-term conditions.

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