How long is the vaccination area supposed to be sore?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a cold. The Missus thought it was lasting too long (I think she’s counting differently from I) and sent me to the doctor that is conveniently close. So as not to make it a wasted trip I got my flu shot, and I also wangled a pneumonia shot even though I’m not old enough for it to be covered. Both injections were into my left bicep.

That was Friday, and it’s still very sore. I don’t remember soreness lasting this long, except maybe (Maybe!) when I got the TDAP a few years ago. How long is this supposed to last?

2

They’re giving the flu shot intra-dermally now, and side effects of swelling, itching, and redness are more common than with the intra-muscular way of old. Pain is supposed to be less common, but can still happen. It should last for 3 to 7 days. I just got mine Friday, and have had no side effects whatsover, which is weird, because everything under the sun gives me side effects. Not to rub it in. Maybe put some ice on it or take some ibuprofen.

3

Two at once is why, I’ll bet. Next time, wangle them into using a different location for the second shot and you’ll probably avoid this.

I’ve had many, many vaccinations and never been given two at once in the same spot. Can’t imagine why they’d choose to do so.

4

I was given a choice of where the shots went. The nurse seemed surprised I opted for them both in the same arm. My reasoning is that if there was going to be soreness (flu shots usually don’t result in any), I’d rather deal with one sore arm than two.

5

D’oh, I missed the part about the pneumonia shot. That’s why. Still 3-7 days, though.

6

Granted, I just started getting flu shots last year, but they don’t bother me at all. It could also be that I get them with my allergy shots which are awful and tend to produce large, itchy, sore welts that can last for 48 hours so I might just not notice the flu shot.

I’m also wondering if the fact that you’re sick to begin with is part of it.

7

My flu shot hurt for a couple of days this year. I chalked it up to bad shot-giving.

Ice helps.

8

I haven’t gotten my flu shot yet this year (waiting until my current cold goes away) but last year I remember it being sore for at least 4 days.

I also spiked a 102 fever about 2 hours after getting the shot that lasted over a day. No other symptoms and it went down with Advil, but I’ve been getting flu shots for almost a decade and never had that reaction before. Hopefully that won’t happen again this year.

9

Now you know why the nurse looked surprised!

10

Until the autism sets in. Duh.

11

I had a flu shot about a week ago. I can still feel it. Feels a bit like a bruise, but didn’t discolor. There was a lump there for the first couple days.

12

Dammit! That was gonna be MY joke…BAH!

13

The flu shot that I got at work this year (hospital) was still intramuscular and it left me sore for a few days. It seemed to be a little more painful this year than previous years, but I don’t know if that was just selective memory at work. Anecdotally, patients have been telling me the same thing, but that’s hardly objective data at work. In total I think my arm was sore for about 3-4 days, but it was very much a tapering off, with day 3/4 being barely noticeable compared to day 1/2.

14

This? Or maybe how fine a needle they use?

I’ve had tetanus boosters (TDAP or whatever variety they use) every ten years for 40 years now (four in all, so far). Three of those didn’t hurt a bit. No bothersome effects at all. But one of those got sore afterwards and ached like hell for a week, to the extent that it was painful just to move that arm.

Go figure?