Do you guys remember a toy back in the 70s called “Stretch Armstrong”? Big rubbery guy who you could stretch to weird proportions? If you ever accidentally poked a hole in ol’ Stretch, you found out that he was full of a thick, syrupy goo.
That was what tetanus shots always felt like to me–like they were filling my veins with whatever Stretch Armstrong was filled with. Ouch.
Yeah tetanus was icky, gamma globulin was painful, but the worst for me was the Yellow Fever innoculation. I mean imagine a bright orangey yellow Slurpee being injected directly into your arm…OWWWWWW!!! I could feel the ice crystals…shudder.
And then when I got sick and they thought I had malaria and they gave me this horrible medicine that was supposed to combat it but instead made me violently ill for 4 days…I can’t even remember the name…it was for chloroquine resistant strains.
Yuck. E. Africa was a cool trip but I dont think I’d do it again.
when I got Gama Globuline the doc said “try and relax, but this is going to hurt.” That’s the first time they ever told the truth!
My last tetanus shot was when I was 16 and it gave me a fever. I also felt so faint that I almost passed out on the subway, about 20 minutes after receiving the shot. Is that a normal reaction or an allergic reaction? Just wondering.
I asked the doc about getting an update, since I’m 26 and handle horses. She said to wait a year and the shortage would have abated by then. FWIW.