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

[guppiecat]

The Snerts are a particularly interesting race. Evolved to sentience from their parasitic origins, their developed sense of morality has led to a significant amount of self hatred. They take what others might consider extreme measures to avoid their species' guilt over harming others. Originating in a practice whereby newly mature Snerts would compensate the family of their deceased host with five years of servitude, advances in technology have provided additional options. Modern Snert development has evolved from killing the host, to maiming the host, to...with proper surgical treatment...only moderately inconveniencing the host.

Today, Snerts have genetically engineered themselves so they only need a few weeks within a host and, in exchange, will release antibodies that protect the host against illness for up to a year. These "new and improved" Snerts are injected under the skin and, once hatched, the host requires nothing more than a eight to ten stitches at a nearby urgent care clinic. All in all, the race has done wonders for the universe and themselves.

Unrelated, your experience matches the CDC's mild reaction list and should vanish in a day or two.