What to do if an adult experiences redness and thickening after a flu shot
Vaccination is an effective preventive measure that protects millions of people from various infections and viruses, including influenza. However, after administration of the active substance, patients may experience side effects and complications. Among the common problems is the appearance of redness and induration in adults and children after a flu shot.
Why does a reaction occur after vaccination?
The appearance of a red spot after a flu shot indicates the development of an allergic reaction to the drug. There are two types of allergies:
The first type is accompanied by increased body temperature, severe weakness and headache. In the second case, itching, hives or redness appear in the area where the vaccine was administered.
The listed symptoms are the body’s natural reaction to the antigen. When faced with a weakened virus, it begins to produce antibodies and build an immune system against infection. Therefore, elevated body temperature or general weakness are normal phenomena.
If an adult's injection site becomes red and swollen after a flu shot, this signals a protective reaction of the skin to the needle.
Complications after vaccination also occur in the presence of an allergy to egg white, since this substance is present in the composition of the drugs. Such patients should inform the doctor about the problem, since it is a contraindication.
Another reaction to the flu shot in adults is a red spot. This phenomenon confirms that at the time of injection of the vaccine the person was infected with a strain of influenza and the body demonstrates a response to the antigens. If an adult or child has a swollen hand, the specialist may not have used enough disinfectant.
Less commonly, a reddened spot indicates that the vaccine has been improperly stored or has expired.
Alarming symptoms appear only 1-2 days after the injection. If after vaccination there is no fever, but your arm hurts, seek medical help.
The impact of vaccination on well-being
If a killed or weakened virus enters the body, this is accompanied by a response. Moreover, it appears both immediately after the vaccination and after a couple of hours.
According to statistics, 1% of Russian patients experience general symptoms after vaccination, and 4% experience local symptoms.
Among the most common side effects of the influenza virus are:
- Increased body temperature (up to 37.5 ⁰C).
- Weakness and chronic fatigue.
- Decreased appetite.
- Problems with sleep and sweating.
- Chills, coldness in the feet and hands.
In the injection area there are:
- Red spots.
- Rashes and itching.
- Traces of inflammation and thickening of the skin.
- Painful sensations.
- Minor swelling.
These symptoms are explained by the development of immunity to influenza. The response lasts for 24 hours and is not accompanied by complications.
Is redness and thickening normal after vaccination?
If after a flu shot your hand turns red or swelling appears at the injection site, this is not a cause for concern, but a common phenomenon that affects both young and adult patients.
Immunization is an effective preventive measure designed to protect people from viruses and infections. Using an injection, a special drug that contains a weakened influenza virus is injected into the body. When interacting with a foreign object, the body produces antibodies that help fight the infectious disease in the future.
Signs of an allergy to a vaccine
The main manifestation of an allergy to a flu shot is itching or a local rash. If symptoms worsen and traces of the rash spread throughout the body, you should seek medical help.
If the flu shot is red and itchy, and the injection site is swollen by 8 mm, you should seek medical help.
Other signs of an allergic reaction include:
- Hives. The problem is accompanied by itching and redness. In addition, the hand may swell.
- Quincke's edema. Is an allergic swelling of the face, nose, larynx or throat. It appears within a couple of minutes from the moment the vaccine is administered.
- Serum sickness. It is an inflammation of blood vessels.
- Anaphylactic shock. The most dangerous manifestation of allergy, which occurs 3 hours after vaccination.
The timing of the onset of allergies depends on a variety of reasons, but in most cases, an allergic reaction is diagnosed within the first hour.
The degree of reaction to the vaccine
The degree of reaction to the vaccine differs between children and adults.
A weak reaction manifests itself in the form of the following symptoms:
- Increase in body temperature to 38.5 °C.
- Puffiness and swelling.
- Minor pain.
If complications develop, a high temperature (from 39 degrees) and a deterioration in the patient’s condition are possible. To exclude such consequences, immunologists recommend vaccination only if a number of rules are followed before and after vaccination.
What to do to ease the reaction
When faced with a negative reaction of the body to an active substance, do not rush to worry. Most symptoms are safe and natural. But to alleviate your condition and prevent the progression of complications, you can do the following:
- Use antihistamines prescribed by your doctor. Taking medications is necessary to avoid side effects.
- Make sure that the rules for storing the vaccine and injections for its administration are observed.
- Do not immerse the grafting site in water for 24 hours, avoid rubbing or scratching if itching occurs.
- Apply a mesh of iodine or a layer of Fenistol gel, Heparin ointment and Vitaon balm to the injection area.
- Treat the area with Dimexide solution.
- Apply a cabbage leaf or a slice of pickled cucumber to the grafting site.
- Make a fabric compress soaked in Novocaine solution.
If the diameter of the redness exceeds 8 cm, you will need to seek help from specialists. This indicates the development of dangerous complications or signs of a purulent process.
What to do before vaccination to avoid unwanted effects
Before you get a flu vaccine, you need to properly prepare yourself or your child. 2 days before the procedure, you should suspend any sports activities and do not carry out general cleaning of the house.
During the week before and after vaccination, allergenic foods should be excluded from the diet. Children under 3 years of age should not eat new foods, and adults and children over 3 years of age should avoid highly allergenic foods, which include:
- Peanut.
- Pineapples.
- Shrimps.
- Caviar.
- Smoked products.
To prevent troubles, you should not be exposed to overheating for 3 days before and after immunization. Exposure to high temperatures impairs thermoregulation in the body and suppresses its protective functions.
Rules of conduct after vaccination to prevent complications
Try to dress your child appropriately for the weather to prevent excessive sweating. The clothing used should not be synthetic, as such materials increase sweating.
Avoid going to baths and saunas, and do not take hot baths. You also need to exclude intense physical activity or long games outdoors for more than 1 hour. It is important to adhere to the rules of a healthy lifestyle and sleep. Night rest should take at least 7-8 hours.
In case of acute inflammation with high fever, swelling or pain, do not proceed with the injection. During this period, the body is forced to cope with the disease, so it is not able to develop immunity to the weakened virus from the injection.
Who is generally contraindicated for vaccination (briefly)
Vaccination is contraindicated for colds or viral diseases with a body temperature of 38-38.5 °C. If such a symptom is absent, it is necessary to assess the severity of the cold. If you have a slight runny nose, vaccination is not contraindicated.
The procedure cannot be performed while undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, which suppresses the immune response. It is also better to avoid the event if you have severe immunodeficiency.
It is prohibited to administer the drug if you have a severe allergy to the vaccine or egg white. If you have had a negative reaction to a flu shot in the past, tell your doctor.
The flu vaccine can be given with other drugs on the same day or at different intervals.
Source: https://oVakcine.ru/inekciya/chto-delat-esli-posle-privivki-ot-grippa-nablyudaetsya-pokrasnenie-i-uplotnenie-u-vzroslogo-cheloveka
What to do
If the flu shot is red and swollen, it is possible that all conditions before and after the procedure were not met.
Before vaccination
Before going for vaccination, you need to find out if there are any contraindications to this procedure. These include:
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- respiratory viral infection in the acute stage;
- individual intolerance to chicken egg whites;
- bronchial asthma;
- allergic dermatitis;
- recent (2 weeks ago or less) cold;
- neurological diseases, especially in the acute stage.
Therefore, in order to avoid the fact that your health has worsened, an allergic reaction has occurred (up to anaphylactic shock and Quincke's edema), the hand has swollen at the injection site, you must first consult with a doctor who will give his verdict - can this person be vaccinated, or should he only? will be harmful because the reaction to the flu shot can be unpredictable.
Be sure to measure your temperature before the injection - the slightest deviation from the norm serves as a signal that you cannot get vaccinated at this time.
Perhaps the person is already infected with some kind of infection and the disease is in a latent form, or the disease is in an incubation period.
You should not drink alcohol 2-3 days before the procedure; it is better not to smoke on the day of vaccination and immediately before it.
After vaccination
To avoid the risk of developing an allergic reaction, it is recommended not to leave the clinic immediately after the injection, but to sit quietly in the corridor and drink still mineral water. The speed of reaction to the introduction of antigens is individual for each person. Someone may feel weak or have an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Therefore, it is better to stay in a medical facility for some time so that doctors can provide emergency assistance if necessary. If no complications arise within 40-60 minutes, you can go home.
If the flu shot site turns red after the injection or the temperature rises, it is important not to wet the injection site under any circumstances. To prevent the red spot from itching or pain, you can cover the affected area with a bactericidal plaster.
If you have been vaccinated against the flu, and your arm is swollen after vaccination, the injection site turns red, it feels tight and hot to the touch, and it becomes clear that the person is sick, there is no need to self-medicate, you need to see a doctor.
Redness on the arm after a flu shot should not be wetted or scratched, as this will lead to additional infection.
If you suspect that such a reaction is a manifestation of an allergy, you can take an antihistamine. It is advisable not to use outdated antiallergic drugs such as Suprastin or Tavegil. It is better to give preference to new generation products - Fenistil, Claritin, Cetrin.
If the temperature remains at the subfebrile level (does not exceed 37.2-37.5°C), antipyretics may not be taken. If hyperthermia occurs up to 38°C, you can take a Paracetamol or Ibuprofen tablet. If the injection site is very swollen and red, you feel unbearable pain, you can take a painkiller and go to see a doctor.
Swollen hand after flu shot
» Flu » My hand is swollen from the flu shot
I got a flu vaccine yesterday, and today I saw how swollen and red the injection site was - is that scary?
It’s not scary - everything will pass in a couple of days.
lady soul of wolf
I think not, drink this, what the hell is it, Arbidol - wow! Well, all sorts of immune-strengthening things and that’s it.
I think this is the end.
Ne, ne strashno, u menya tak vsegda v detskom sadu bilo. (ya prosto bol`she ne pomnyu kogda delala.) U menya potom i ne proveryali.
Ne bois`
Source: https://oappendicite.ru/bol-v-gorle/opuhla-ruka-posle-privivki-ot-grippa
Redness and swelling on the arm after a flu shot
After a flu shot, redness and thickening are by no means uncommon, especially if the patient did not follow the medical recommendations given to him after the vaccination. In addition, this can happen when a person has a high predisposition to developing allergic reactions. How to avoid such a reaction or reduce its severity, we will consider below.
Is it normal to have soreness and tenderness in your arm after a flu vaccine?
The flu shot turned red, why? This reaction to vaccination is not uncommon and can occur in both children and adults.
Immunization is an excellent preventive method that can protect a person from viral exposure.
By introducing a vaccine into the human body, the immune system becomes familiar with pathogens, which provoke the development of the disease.
Vaccination is a training-type fight, after which the immune system remembers the sequence of actions, and, during the actual penetration of the influenza virus into the body, it uses its knowledge to fight it.
There are a number of vaccines, each of which differs from the others in composition; some contain weakened viruses, others are killed or inactivated. The result of introducing such a drug into the body is always the development of some reactions; they can be pronounced, completely unnoticeable, or local (swelling of a flu shot).
A mild degree of adverse reactions, when a person’s general condition does not worsen, but only minor changes occur on the surface of the skin, as a rule, do not cause a person much concern and go away on their own after 2-3 days.
Allergy after vaccination
The flu shot site is red, what to do in such a situation, is this a cause for concern? Before clarifying these issues, it is important to understand what a vaccine is.
A vaccine is an immunologically active agent that provokes certain changes in the coordinated functioning of all body systems. They can manifest themselves in:
- formation of immunity to infectious effects;
- the development of unpleasant manifestations, both at the vaccination site and, in general, from the body.
Adverse reactions that often develop after vaccination can be of two types:
- Local: manifested as changes in the surface of the skin where the injection was given. This may include pain, redness, rashes, swelling, itching, and the appearance of hives.
- General: when a person complains of a deterioration in his own health. Such reactions manifest themselves in the form of weakness, increased fatigue, increased body temperature, runny nose, sore throat, loss of appetite.
Experts distinguish two concepts: adverse reactions after an injection and complications that develop after vaccination. The latter are characterized by a high degree of severity, while side effects are more reminiscent of a common allergy, which does not pose any danger to human health.
Complications after vaccination include:
- a sharp drop in blood pressure;
- anaphylactic shock;
- development of neurological disorders;
- encephalitis.
Complications after vaccinations are extremely rare; they indicate a strong allergic reaction of the body to the components of the vaccine, the presence of contraindications to this procedure in a person, which were not taken into account in a timely manner.
Complications of local significance may have the following symptoms:
- the injection site is red and itchy;
- swelling is clearly visible on the shoulder;
- a compaction appears around the injection, the diameter of which does not exceed 3 cm;
- Purulent discharge may be observed, indicating non-compliance with the rules of asepsis and antisepsis during drug administration.
When such reactions occur in a child and cause him great anxiety, it is better to call a doctor. Adult patients usually do not worry about such phenomena, especially since they go away on their own after one or two days.
Causes of allergies after vaccination
The reason that edema occurs and the injection site swells is the body’s reaction to the introduction of foreign substances. This may be evidence that the immune system has thus reacted to the penetration of viral particles and began to fight them. Therefore, redness of the injection site is not always a pathology, sometimes it is evidence that the vaccine is working correctly.
Reasons that can provoke the development of local reactions:
- injection of a vaccine that damaged the integrity of the skin (irritation of this place is a peculiar reaction of the body to the invasion);
- development of immunity in response to the introduction of a viral antigen;
- vaccination carried out intramuscularly: when the drug is injected into the gluteal region, there is always a danger of affecting the subcutaneous fatty tissue. For children, it is preferable to carry out this procedure on the front of the thigh, for adults - on the upper third of the shoulder.
The basis for the onset of a skin reaction is:
- reproduction of viral agents that have penetrated the skin;
- allergic manifestations after the injection (the hand may swell, the injection site will have an increased body temperature);
- increased manifestations of bleeding after the procedure.
Allergic reactions may be the fault of the medical workers who performed this procedure:
- the vaccine was stored incorrectly, at a temperature that did not meet the standards specified by the manufacturer;
- the injection was not administered in the manner recommended;
- the employee neglected the rules of asepsis and antiseptics.
What to do
What to do when your hand is swollen after getting a flu shot? This situation should not cause panic or severe anxiety; most often, it does not threaten a person’s health in any way, but is only a temporary inconvenience that will not be difficult to get rid of.
What you can do to alleviate your own condition:
- to prevent such reactions, you should take antihistamines (recommended by your doctor) three days before and the next 3 days after vaccination;
- monitor the expiration dates and storage rules of the drug that the medical worker will use for the injection;
- do not wet the vaccination site for 24 hours, avoid excessive rubbing with clothing fabrics, or scratching if itching occurs;
- to alleviate the condition, apply an iodine mesh, use Fenistil gel, Troxevasin, Vitaon balm, Heparin ointment;
- apply a diluted solution of Dimexide to the injection site;
- use a slightly torn cabbage leaf or a slice of pickled cucumber;
- apply a tissue compress soaked in Novocaine solution to the site of inflammation;
- It is allowed to briefly apply a piece of ice wrapped in a napkin to the injection site.
Redness at the injection site requires seeking medical help if the diameter of its spread exceeds 8 cm, or there are signs of the development of a purulent process.
As a rule, redness or swelling of the injection site is not a cause for concern, but only an individual reaction of the body to the procedure that is not harmful to health.
Source: https://bezgrippa.com/profilaktika/posle-privivki-ot-grippa-pokrasnenie-i-uplotnenie-na-ruke/
My hand is swollen after a flu shot, what should I do?
> Miscellaneous
10.01.2020
» Symptoms » Swollen arm after flu shot
Redness on the skin after vaccination
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What to do if the reaction is severe? Useful tips
To relieve the itching, flu vaccinations are used to produce antibodies,
Redness and swelling on the arm after a flu shot
After a flu shot, redness and thickening are by no means uncommon, especially if the patient did not follow the medical recommendations given to him after the vaccination. In addition, this can happen when a person has a high predisposition to developing allergic reactions. How to avoid such a reaction or reduce its severity, we will consider below.
Why does my hand hurt?
The causes of pain at the injection site may vary.
An allergic reaction to the components of the drug is possible.
Often accompanied by fever, urticaria, itching, and swelling of the larynx. Anaphylactic shock is rarely observed. Both mild side effects and dangerous complications are possible. What do you think are the most important factors when choosing a medical facility?
If the injection technique was violated, the needle touched a large blood vessel, unpleasant sensations will also appear. This will cause a bruise at the injection site.
In cases where a blunt needle was used to administer the vaccine, a blood clot may form. After this, an inflammatory process occurs, accompanied by severe cutting pain, decreased hand mobility, and hyperthermia.
If the nerve has been damaged, neuritis will develop.
If you use an old needle, damage may occur. This can cause soft tissue damage. In this case, aching pain occurs.
If pathogenic microorganisms penetrate the wound, an acute inflammatory process may begin, an abscess in which the shoulder hurts after a flu shot. The temperature rises sharply and weakness occurs. The patient feels dizzy and a cavity filled with pus forms.