Hi everyone - No one's going crazy here. As you can see on this thread, and on others on the EmpowHer site, there are a lot of people experiencing arm pain after getting a flu shot.
This may not be a lot of comfort - according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the most common side effect of the flu vaccine in adults is soreness at the spot where the shot was given, which usually lasts less than two days. The CDC states that the soreness is often caused by a person’s immune system making protective antibodies to the killed viruses in the vaccine. These antibodies are what allow the body to fight against flu. The needle stick, if done improperly, may also cause some soreness at the injection site.
According to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), rare symptoms include fever, muscle pain, and feelings of discomfort or weakness. If these problems occur, they are very uncommon and usually begin soon after the shot and last 1-2 days.
As with other vaccine reactions, patients and physicians can report possible side effects and reactions from flu shots to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a 'post-marketing safety surveillance program' that is maintained by the FDA and CDC. Information can be found here: https://vaers.hhs.gov/about/index
I encourage all of you to keep us posted on the problems you're experiencing, as well as what relieves those problems. You may also want to look at the information that's been provided by other members on this topic - collectively we all know quite a lot! Good luck, everyone. Pat
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Hi everyone - No one's going crazy here. As you can see on this thread, and on others on the EmpowHer site, there are a lot of people experiencing arm pain after getting a flu shot.
This may not be a lot of comfort - according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the most common side effect of the flu vaccine in adults is soreness at the spot where the shot was given, which usually lasts less than two days. The CDC states that the soreness is often caused by a person’s immune system making protective antibodies to the killed viruses in the vaccine. These antibodies are what allow the body to fight against flu. The needle stick, if done improperly, may also cause some soreness at the injection site.
According to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), rare symptoms include fever, muscle pain, and feelings of discomfort or weakness. If these problems occur, they are very uncommon and usually begin soon after the shot and last 1-2 days.
As with other vaccine reactions, patients and physicians can report possible side effects and reactions from flu shots to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a 'post-marketing safety surveillance program' that is maintained by the FDA and CDC. Information can be found here: https://vaers.hhs.gov/about/index
I encourage all of you to keep us posted on the problems you're experiencing, as well as what relieves those problems. You may also want to look at the information that's been provided by other members on this topic - collectively we all know quite a lot! Good luck, everyone. Pat
December 1, 2009 - 6:54pmThis Comment
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