Myocarditis: Expert discusses vaccine side effect
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With the government ramping up the vaccine roll out it is likely you have already had your first dose and may soon get your second. Many Brits have experienced mild pain in their vaccinated arm after receiving their Covid jab. This is common with any vaccine, but if you are due to be jabbed soon is there anything you can do to stop this?
Having a painful, tender arm is irritating and can prevent you from bouncing back to normal after you have had your all-important Covid vaccination.
You might have seen many millennials swinging their arms around in TikTok videos after they have received their vaccines in a bid to stop their arms from hurting.
Unfortunately, this has little to no effect – swinging your arms after getting jabbed will not provide pain relief.
Why do you get side effects from the vaccine?
It’s important to know that there are two types of side effects that can be brought on by any vaccination, local and systemic effects.
Systemic effects happens throughout your body, or in a different part of your body from where the jab was given.
You may think this is concerning some may think the pain should be limited to the area where the vaccine was administered.
But systemic side effects such as headaches, fevers, feelings of fatigue are common after vaccines and if these are mild and go away within a few days are often nothing to worry, and in fact they show that the vaccine is doing its job.
Local effects are felt in the area where the vaccine was administered.
So any soreness, redness or light swelling in the arm where the shot was given is a local reaction.
These symptoms often occur as the muscle in your arm reacts to the small amount of vaccine liquid that was injected into the arm.
If you start to experience stronger side effects from your second dose of the Covid vaccine do not be concerned as symptoms are often more noticeable the second time around.
Although this kind of pain in the arm should not be concerning, it can be uncomfortable.
So can you do anything to stop your arm from hurting after getting the vaccine?
Ways to stop your arm from hurting post-vaccination
The area of your arm where the needle went in can often be painful and tender after the vaccination.
To help reduce the soreness experienced at the injection site you can try these easy remedies:
Run a clean cloth under cold water and place on the area, this should reduce any swelling and help top relieve some of the soreness.
Some find heat soothes better as it relaxes the muscle either a warm or cool compress is okay, whichever works best for you.
Ibuprofen, aspirin and paracetamol can also be taken post-vaccination for mild pain relief, you should only take this after you have been jabbed not as a pre-emptive move beforehand, be sure to read the recommended doses of these forms of pain relief as the dosage required can vary between different brands.
You should be told to relax your arm before being jabbed, it is essential to avoid tensing your arm muscle during the injection.
Even though some can find the process stressful it is important to try to keep your arm relaxed at your side, in a neutral position during the injection as it will be more painful for you afterwards if you don’t.
Keeping your arm active after your vaccine can help to reduce the pain.
Try to stretch out your arm gently after being vaccinated and keep it moving by gently swinging it continuously, this will increase blood flow to the injection site, which can help to lessen tenderness felt in the arm.
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