# Vaccinations hurt! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267 "2009-10-19T01:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/21 "2009-10-20T17:22:15Z")
I’m not tense at all when my baby gets her shots. She still cries. I’m pretty sure it hurts. It is certainly a very unpleasant sensation. So what? I don’t see any reason to complicate the procedure or risk adverse reactions to an additional medication to avoid the baby crying. She settles down plenty quick and I’m quite happy with it. I used to get allergy shots every week when I was a kid and I remember it as no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/22 "2009-10-20T18:59:13Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > After a pulmonary embolism, I spent two weeks injecting Lovenox twice a day. Sticking the needle in, I barely felt. Injecting the heparin, on the other hand, burned like a motherfucker. So, as others have observed, it’s not always the needle itself that’s the painful part. Next time I see babies on tv getting their vaccinations, I’ll pay attention to whether it cries before or after the plunger is pushed. I’ll allow for stimulus to reaction time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![corvidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/23 "2009-10-21T02:02:40Z")
Ok, I’ve given something like 30 needles today, so I feel like I can comment. Most childhood immunizations are intramuscular, so it’s given fairly deep, and it is ouchy, no question. The subcutaneous ones aren’t as bad. I am not a big fan of EMLA, it does not help the muscle pain and most parent do not place it in the correct spots for it to be effective. A 30 G needle would take a much longer time to inject than a 25 G needle (my tool of choice). I have found that the faster the whole process is, the easier it is on everyone involved. Seriously, the kids don’t have time to react if you’re fast enough. Some needles are more painful than others, specifically prevnar, gardasil, varivax/varilrix and certain formulations of the mmr - I’m sure there are other nastier ones, but these are the one I work with most often. The kids feed off their parents’ distress. If the parents are upset and panicking, the babies pick up on it and react accordingly, more often than not. A trick that can work (not always, but often enough, IME) is putting some pressure on the injection spot immediately before the injection. I’ll often press my thumb (covered with an alcohol swab) into some poor kid’s thigh or shoulder before I inject. It does feel uncomfortable to begin with, but if everything is done fast enough, you can get some amazing results. This trick works better with the older kids - the babies don’t tolerate the initial discomfort that well, usually. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/24 "2009-10-21T03:23:56Z")
I nursed my daughter during many of her shots. Most of the time she was too busy guzzling down the boob juice to take much notice of anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/25 "2009-10-21T03:24:24Z")
> [@Uncertain](#): > > I was surprised to learn that what hurts is not the piercing, but the subsequent injecting of liquid. Yup. Think about it. The needle is very thin and glides between the nerve endings. But a cc of liquid makes a big cavity in your muscle. The whole thing is a “walking on coals” sort of experience. If you’re relaxed, it doesn’t hurt at all. If you tense up, it’s a sulf-fulfilling prophecy that the pain comes. When the muscle is tense there’s much less space between fibers. Any ripped tensed fiber snaps back (like a torn rubber band). The liquid’s got nowhere to go. Etc. > [@corvidae](#): > > This trick works better with the older kids - the babies don’t tolerate the [finger pressing down] that well, usually. See.. they’re fn babies! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/26 "2009-10-21T12:43:03Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I nursed my daughter during many of her shots. Most of the time she was too busy guzzling down the boob juice to take much notice of anything else. Extra point: Doesn’t boob juice release hormones in both baby and mom? Or maybe it’s the nursing itself. I dunno, I “read it somewhere”. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/27 "2009-10-21T12:51:27Z")
We are all operating from the premise that a little pain is a bad thing. Tsk tsk tsk. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/28 "2009-10-21T13:08:10Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I nursed my daughter during many of her shots. Most of the time she was too busy guzzling down the boob juice to take much notice of anything else. Before her teeth erupted, right?😉 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/29 "2009-10-21T14:03:17Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Extra point: > Doesn’t boob juice release hormones in both baby and mom? Or maybe it’s the nursing itself. I dunno, I “read it somewhere”. Honestly? Once you get the hang of it nursing feels really good. As long as you keep up your fluid supply (and you really have to drink as much as you can chug down every single day) it’s a very nice way way to feed a baby. Also constant nursing can make you and the baby sleepy. I found it a great way to catch up on naps when my daughter was small. She would fall asleep sated with milk. I’d put her in her crib and grab a quick nap on a mattress on the floor right next to her. Very sweet. > [@kayaker](#): > > Before her teeth erupted, right?😉 My little girl was so milk happy she found a way to still nurse and keep her teeth from biting me. I finally weaned her when she was two. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/30 "2009-10-21T14:47:25Z")
I do remember that some men are a little jealous of the mommy part of nursing. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/31 "2009-10-21T19:36:21Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I do remember that some men are a little jealous of the mommy part of nursing. That’s why there’s two. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/32 "2009-10-21T20:33:37Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > That’s why there’s two. The _mommy_ part, dang it! That’s why men have nipples. They’re the original pacifier, you see. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267/33 "2009-10-21T21:54:18Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > The _mommy_ part, dang it! > That’s why men have nipples. They’re the original pacifier, you see. I’m gonna try that one day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations-hurt/514267.md?page=1)