Flu Shot Symptoms: Common Symptoms People Experience After Getting the Flu Shot

It's flu season, so it's probably in your best interest to get your shots even though you might experience some flu shot symptoms after getting it. It is important to note that seniors with underlying conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease, are at a higher risk of developing life-threatening complications after contracting the flu. Unfortunately, influenza affects seniors on a disproportionate level: The flu accounts for 70%-85% of deaths from the disease and 50%-70% of hospitalizations among individuals over the age of 65.

This news is not to scare you but to let you know how important it is to take care of yourself: Vaccination reduces the risk of contracting influenza from 6% to 2.4% for seniors, which is a significant amount. While you may experience some flu shot symptoms from the flu shot, they are relatively minor and usually don't last very long. Before heading to the doctor's office, you will likely want to learn about the common symptoms people experience after receiving their flu shot so that you can prepare ahead of time.

While the following flu shot symptoms do not always occur, they often do:

• Soreness
• Redness
• Headache
• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Nausea
• Fainting (rare)
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Chest discomfort
• Sore throat

Fortunately, these tend to go away very soon, and you may not experience any of them.

How to Minimize the Risk of Experiencing Flu Shot Symptoms

In order to minimize your risk of experiencing flu shot symptoms, you will want to implement a few practices that will likely be helpful:

• It might be beneficial to take 3-5 deep breaths to relax your muscles and distract yourself by chewing sugar-free gum as the procedure is taking place.
• Many find themselves feeling nauseous if they look straight at the needle, so closing your eyes and visualizing a happy memory or looking elsewhere is best.
• It's also ideal to receive the shot in your non-dominant arm so you can complete your regular activities with your dominant one.

In short, planning to do anything but look directly at the needle as they are inserting it will likely work to your advantage—It can significantly reduce the risk of certain symptoms, particularly if the sight of blood makes you feel nauseous.

How to Treat Them

After getting the shot, you will want to apply pressure to your arm to reduce inflammation. Then you can use warm and cold compresses to lower swelling. Finally, it's important to keep moving around after the procedure has been performed to get your blood flowing in your arm. A few days after the shot, taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen will likely be beneficial if you are still experiencing pain.

While getting your flu shot can sometimes produce anxiety, it is essential to receive one so as to protect yourself as much as possible from influenza—this vaccination will likely make an enormous difference. Senior Helpers Florida provides assistance to seniors who are suffering from Alzheimer's, Dementia, and Parkinson's. We are located in Miami, Miami Beach, and North Miami Beach, Florida. Please contact us today for more information.