Dear Body, WTF?

[lydy]

I got my flu shot yesterday. As always, it hurt, because needles. Ok, then. But it continued to hurt. And then hurt some more. So, I looked at it in the mirror. I have a red spot fully four inches in diameter. It's bigger than a baseball, dammit. And it's incredibly sensitive to any pressure.

I've never had this reaction to a shot before. Fascinating. There aren't any symptoms that worry me. No shortness of breath, red lines, or things like that. I did have some joint and muscle pain earlier today, but that's mostly gone, and is pretty typical with getting a flu shot for me.

So, really, WTF?

Comments

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

I'm a little confused about the allergy thing too. Does seem to be contradictory information. It may depend on the amount of exposure, or it may depend on the allergen. Bee sting allergies definitely get worse each time. So does poison ivy. Some pet allergies get better over time, but some get worse with more exposure. But I think that allergic responses to medication tend to get worse with each exposure.

After a little more googling I think what you have is an injection site hematoma. The recommended treatment seems to be cold compresses. If it really is blood under the skin, it will probably turn purple like a bruise before gradually disappearing. If that happens, you'll know it wasn't an allergy. And if you don't have any other symptoms of excessive bleeding, it's probably a one-off occurrence. But you might want to avoid aspirin around the time you get next year's shot.

[soon_lee]

Allergies are complicated.

I underwent immunotherapy treatment to try to rid myself of a wasp allergy. It involved getting injected with minute doses of wasp venom, eventually increased over time until I was getting the equivalent of two stings' worth. This was done in an environment where if I developed a severe reaction, they could treat me.

Initially, the smallest dose caused the injection point to swell up like a golf ball, but by the end, two stings' worth caused a barely discernible response. So dosage makes a difference.

With the flu-shot swelling, I would keep an eye on it & if it develops into anaphylaxis get emergency treatment. Otherwise, it should subside over time. Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional.

[sraun]

My understanding is that allergy de-sensitization shots start a dose that is low enough to not trigger a reaction, and then slowly increase over time.

If you get hit with an amount that actually triggers a reaction, then the next reaction may be worse.