I had this gross infected toe thing going on, so last Thursday even though it was looking better I took it to the doctor (partly because I’m leaving the country in a few days and wanted to make absolutely sure I wouldn’t have trouble in the third world.) She poked a hole in it (!) and gave me oral antibiotics, an antibiotic ointment, and a tetanus shot. I’m seeing her again to check on it this afternoon.
Okay, I expect a tetanus shot to make my arm sore, but it’s STILL sore and swollen and a little red. All weekend and today I’ve been nauseous, headachy, and felt oddly stiff - kind of achy, but also like I needed a good stretch. The nausea is the worst.
Well, it could also be the antibiotics - I’ve been trying to remember to eat with them, but I’ve been the opposite of hungry. My toe, by the way, is much better. But the fact that the part of my arm where I got the tetanus shot is still warm and swollen is kind of unusual, isn’t it? Should I be concerned?
Tetanus shots tend to be painful and cause a moderately large amount of irritation. Especially if one’s body was still chock full of anti-tetanus antibodies from one’s previous innoculation. Significant local swelling, malaise, aches and pains, headache are not uncommon. nausea is sometimes present too.
Warning signs would be high fever, shaking chills, rigor, intractable vomiting. Such a severe reaction is uncommon, however.
Antibiotics will also often contribute to gastro-intestinal side-effects.
Repeat pneumococcal vaccination tends to be even worse, due to all the different antigens in it calling up an even bigger immune response.
I had a tetanus shot recently, too, and had what felt like a mild flu for the next four or five days. Nothing severe, just malaise and aches. I guessed it was probably the shot, though I could have been wrong.
I’m having a hell of time getting those damned antibiotics down, too - they’re enormous horse pills and I have to take two twice daily. Also everybody at work is making pregnancy jokes and driving me to murderous rage.
I got a cut on my foot from walking outside. I need to get a tetanus shot at the county health department. I’m getting the shot tommorow after work. Do I need antibiotics, too?
It’s weird, I just had a tetanus shot on Friday. I remember my arm hurt a lot the last time I had one, but this time it’s hardly hurt at all, and I’ve felt fine. I wonder what the difference is.
I stole your hurt, is what happened. Have you taken any of my toenails recently?
I saw the doctor, although not the same doctor as before. He said it probably was a reaction, although it’s hard to say which medication to blame the nausea for, but he gave me something for that. He also had me change my two pills twice a day antibiotics to one pill twice a day so that I’d be taking it for the duration of the Mexico trip, as evidently the sulfa drugs have some use against traveler’s diarrhea? Sweet!
Another person chiming in to say my recent tetanus shot hurt for days, too. I don’t recall any flu-like symptoms, but shots don’t tend to make me feel sick.
ETA: Recent? More like two years ago. Time really is speeding up.
I got a tetanus shot about a month ago, after being bitten by a dog. They said to get another one right about now, then a third one either 6 months or a year later.
What happens if I don’t get subsequent shots? I do plan on getting them, but was wondering. I am guessing that if I finish the series then I can get bitten with impunity for the next 10 years or so, and if i don’t then I get to start over again with another shot the next time a dog bites/I step on a rusty nail. Am I correct?
Also everybody at work is making pregnancy jokes and driving me to murderous rage.