What does it mean if your arm swells up after a flu shot?

What does it mean if your arm swells up after a flu shot?

While the flu shot cannot cause you to become sick with the flu, your immune system still recognizes what’s been injected into you as foreign. As a result, it produces an immune response, which leads to the soreness or swelling that occurs near the injection site.

Does flu shot cause inflammation?

Vaccines, including influenza virus vaccine, induce relatively mild and transient inflammatory responses [8–10]. In turn, inflammation is implicated in pain, malaise, fatigue, and general sickness behaviors [11]. Thus, transient inflammatory responses may correspond with subjective symptom reporting.

Can flu shot cause swollen lymph nodes?

When you receive a vaccination, your lymph nodes are activated to produce white blood cells, which fight off infection. This causes the lymph nodes to swell and, possibly, to become noticeable to the touch. This swelling normally goes away a few weeks after receiving the vaccine.

What helps swelling from flu shot?

“If you always experience soreness or swelling after a flu vaccination, take an ibuprofen about 2 hours prior to vaccination,” suggests Dr. Mora. “You can also try icing the injection site to reduce redness and swelling and taking another dose of ibuprofen to ease any soreness or swelling.”

Is it normal for injection site swelling?

Injection site reactions are the most common adverse events following immunisation. These include pain, itching, swelling or redness around the site of injection. These reactions are usually mild and last for 1–2 days.

Can flu cause swollen lymph nodes in armpit?

Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit can be a sign of common viral infections, such as the flu or mono. They can also occur as a result of a bacterial infection or RA. In some cases, swollen lymph nodes are a symptom of cancer. Warm compresses and OTC pain medication can ease any pain or tenderness.

Why do vaccines make your arm sore?

Your arm will likely hurt after a vaccine, like the flu shot, for two primary reasons. One is because you got a needle put in your arm muscle (deltoid), and a small amount of fluid injected. That causes a local inflammatory response — swelling.