# My personal reaction to a tetanus shot



## GoldenCityMuse

I had my semi-annual checkup at the VA Wednesday. One of the questions the nurse [a very nice woman by the way] asked was whether I wanted a Tetanus shot. Upon considering, now that I am mowing a yard, and working on clearing out some overgrown brush, I decided to go ahead and get one. Especially since it has probably been close to 20 years since my last.

Got the shot Wed afternoon. Not much pain, and I exercised my arm to help reduce the pain the nurse said would occur. 

Thursday morning, it still was not too painful, but by the afternoon, I could hardly lift my arm above my head! What would have happened if I had not exercised I wonder?

Today, we had a yars sale starting at 0700, while it was cool. Very slow. After lunch we packed up, and I was feeling very achy and tired, almost as if I had the flu.

Laid in bed several hours this afternoon, and when I woke up I started feeling feverish. Sure enough, I am running 100Âº right now, and feeling very tired and worn out and achy.

So, my point - Be prepared for a bodily reaction if you have not had this shot in a while. I also am prepared for the next ten years if there comes some situation where medical care goes down.


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## TheMartianChick

I had a horrible reaction to the tetanus shot last year. I am actually not sure if I will ever get another one. My whole upper arm became extremely bruised with black streaks. It was extremely painful and lasted for weeks.


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## ChristyACB

I got one a couple of years ago (after I hit myself in the leg with a machete like a nitwit) and it was refreshing to actually get a little truth from the nurse. She told me that the older you get the more severe your impact from the shot is likely to be. She said, get ready to be really really sore, take motrin or advil right away and don't stop, exercise that arm vigorously right away, don't sleep on that side and drink lots of water and green tea.

I wish all of them were so honest! Everyone else always just says maybe you'll be a little sore.


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## GoldenCityMuse

I exercised a lot before going to bed, but for some reaon, did not do so after falling asleep/ [grin].

I've been taking 2-3 aspirin daily, it helps for the short term. 1000 mg Vit C as well.

Forgot to say I'm in my late 40's [wow, that sounds so OLD].


I am probably not going to get flu shots in the forseeable future either.


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## MELOC

i got a tetanus booster about 2 years ago after running a piece of fence wire about 1 1/2 inches into my arm. i figured better safe than sorry and i was due for the booster that year. the shot was new at the time...so they said. it was TDAP tetanus, diptheria and pertussis. i was lucky not to have any reaction above two or three days of stiffness and soreness.


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## Ed Norman

I got plenty as a kid. My last was around 30 years ago, in the ham. It swelled about 6x8" and an inch high, turned black and blue. They said I developed an allergy to it and the next shot would swell my whole body like that. So, no more for me. They did say if I somehow catch tetanus, they can take care of it in other ways.


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## tiffnzacsmom

Still rather have the shot then tetnus.


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## JuliaAnn

Oh, no flu shots for me! I have had exactly TWO flu shots in my life, and both times I was quite ill afterwards. Not a little achy, a little feverish, a little tired.... I was SICK as a dog with a temp of 101. And I have had true influenza exactly ONCE in my life and I got over it fine without anything other than over the counter meds. I try to practice hand washing regularly, not touching door handles/knobs, faucet handles, knobs on hot air dryers, grocery cart handles, etc in public (I use my shirt tail or my elbow and I always get one of those wipes that the grocery store has when you get your cart) and I keep a little pack of those wax paper toilet seat covers in my purse and I USE them. I guess I"m a little more paranoid about pathogens on hard surfaces than most people, and I try to anticipate touching anything that others have. I really do believe this has helped me avoid the usual cold and flu strains going around. 

Last time I got a tetanus shot, they wanted to give it to me in my 'hip'. Well, it's *not* your hip where they give you shots, is it? I can't tolerate any injections there because I end up with terrible nerve pain down my leg that lasts for days, even if it's antibiotics or pain killer injections. So I insist on having them in my arm. Lots of times they don't want to do it, but I insist. I have never had a shot hurt me in my upper arm the way it does in my 'hip', even a shot I got once to induce uterine contractions after a miscarriage. Anyway, last time I got a tetnus shot, the injection site swelled up about the diameter of an egg, and protruded about an inch, and it HURT. I think that's the ONLY shot I've ever had hurt me like that.


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## unregistered29228

I got a flu shot back in April, with a physical. I was expecting the regular soreness and redness at the site but had NO reaction at all. I still wonder if my vaccine was effective.

Hubby had a shot yesterday after running a piece of old barbed wire through his leg, and since his last shot was 20 years ago. He was trying to avoid going in, but I told him it was a great prep item since it's effective for 10 years. He's sore tonight and has a little redness at the site, which makes me worry even more than mine wasn't effective.

I'm sorry you feel so bad, Golden, but you do know your shot "took" and you're protected!


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## Guest

I got mine a year ago last April before we moved to our farm. The nurse told me there could be some muscle paralysis, but to not worry about it. 

Sure enough, the next day I woke up and my arm was really sore. I couldn't lift my arm out to my side and up to the top of my head. The muscle she shot it into was paralized. It lasted for a full week. NOT what you want the week you're moving!


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## dave_p

The last one I got was on 9/11 about an hour after the second plane hit, we were back up on a house raising ceiling joists, I accidently shot a three inch framing nail into my ankle joint and almost out the bottom of my foot. I don't remember any pain from the tetanus shot, but I do think two days on an antibiotic drip caused some adverse reactions.......hmmm, maybe it WAS the tetanus shot, in hindsight.
dp


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## Ann-NWIowa

I'm wondering if the shot everyone is reacting to is a mixture instead of just tetanus. I used to have a severe reaction to tetanus when it was horse based. Now its human based and I didn't have a reaction at all or so minor I don't recall. Dh did not have a reaction either. We both had boosters last year. I know we had a foster child have a severe reaction to the dpt but it was the "p" (whooping cough) not the "d" or "t" that caused the problem.


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## PrettyPaisley

Your reaction was not just to the tetanus vaccine. You received a dose of pertussis and diptheria vaccine as well as an unhealthy dose of aluminum phosphate and 2-phenoxyethanol. I'm sure you don't feel well.  

Additionally, if you are exposed to an injury where you feel you might be at risk for tetanus (a treatable condition), you need to ask for an injection of human tetanus immunoglobulin. A "tetanus shot" (TDaP) after the fact is not an ace in the hole. Tetanus is not easy to contract. And as soon as a little oxygen gets in it it-game over. Tetanus loses. And a billion TDaP shots get all the credit. 

The TDaP is the latest vaccine push on healthy adults. You've heard the commercials; "You think the safest place for your baby is in your arms but you are the one making her sick because you are breathing those awful germs all over her." (paraphrased) 

**Full disclosure: I am against an overvaccinated population. :grin:

Hope you feel better.


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## Laverne

Just putting some 40 degree fluid in a 98.6 degree muscle causes pain. Huge pain difference vaccinating my horse between a cold vaccine and a warmed up one. I always warm them up.
They gave flu vaccines at my hubby's work and I told him to warm it up first, nurse let him do this, he had no pain and all the other guys were complaining of arm pain after those cold vaccines.


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## jerrwhy

My wife had the same reaction after receiving a tetanus booster several months ago. What made it really bad was that she needed the tetanus shot after receiving a needle stick from a patient. So she had all the symptoms, which coincidentally are similar to what would happen if she'd been exposed to HIV, tiredness, low grade fever, etc.... So there was this nagging question in the back of her mind that she may have contracted something. Luckily, the resulting blood test were all negative. 


Peace
Jerry


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## fetch33

The last tetanus shot I got was after a horse ripped the end of my thumb off in 2003. I don't remember any reactions, but then again, I was a little preoccupied with PAIN for a few weeks, LOL. I have been getting the flu vaccine for at least 10 years now after I came down with a horrible case of flu. I was in bed for 6 days with a high fever. I don't want to ever repeat that. I am also a nurse, so we are encouraged to get vaccinated to help protect our patients. In fact, every person that is admitted to the hospital is screened for flu and pneumonia vaccination and encouraged to get them. The number of people that die each year from those two diseases is staggering. The elderly are especially prone to complications and death from flu and pneumonia.


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## GoldenCityMuse

Update: Slept pretty well last night, fever went away last night about 10PM. Woke up for the bathroom at 0500, then went back to bed. Stayed in bed until the grandson woke up yelling for his mommy. 

The achyness is gone, and I don't feel so completely exhausted, but just minimal tiredness. Soreness of arm has decreased, and I can now more easily raise my arm over the shoulder, there is still some pain, but not the hard knot of yesterday.

Still I am staying home from church this morning so I canrest in front of this computer. Ha Ha.


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## mpillow

GCM I had the exact same reaction you speak of when I had my booster last month(I'm 39yo)...I was almost vomiting at times but it did pass after a couple of days....my 14 yo daughter had no reaction to hers 2 weeks ago...


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## Pink_Carnation

I'm glad I didn't read all this yesterday. DH got his booster and is only feeling it a little if he puts pressure on the injection site. He also never felt it when the nurse gave him the shot.

We figure it is good insurance against those wounds that we don't really think about but could give you tetanus. The case that sticks in my mind is a woman died from it after getting it from a rosebush thorn.


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## Harry Chickpea

The only negative reaction I had was from the pain in the wallet.


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## VegRN

Often fever results from the body "fighting off" the substances in the vaccine, which is what is supposed to happen. This is how the vaccine works...your body "fights off" a dead or weakened version of the big bad virus/bacteria, and "learns" how to defeat it. If and when that particular virus/bacteria is ever re-introduced into your body, your immune system "remembers" the previous encounter and therefore knows how to kill it quickly and efficiently. 

Some people never have the fever/tiredness/achiness as a side effect of the vaccine, some always have it, and some will have it with some shots but not others. If you are unlucky enough to experience them, you can be comforted by the idea that it means the vaccine is indeed working 

BTW, it is these side effect that get the blame when people say they got the flu from a flu shot. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get the flu from the flu shot. What they are experiencing is either 1) the side effects mentioned above 2) a run of the mill cold, which coincidently started showing symptoms around the time they got the shot (keep in mind whenever you start showing symptoms, you were probably exposed to the virse 3-10 days before), or 3) they did indeend contract the flu from somone infected with the virus, and it was either a strain not covered in their vaccine or they contracted it before the vaccine took complete effect.


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## Sanza

Pink_Carnation said:


> I'm glad I didn't read all this yesterday. DH got his booster and is only feeling it a little if he puts pressure on the injection site. He also never felt it when the nurse gave him the shot.
> 
> We figure it is good insurance against those wounds that we don't really think about but could give you tetanus. The case that sticks in my mind is a woman died from it after getting it from a rosebush thorn.


I think a bit of luck has to do with the experience of the nurse giving the shot too. I had one last year and at the age of 53 I only had a very small ache that lasted a day. OTOH I've had shots from uncaring or inexperienced nurses that hit a nerve and had the whole area numb for months.


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## akhomesteader

PrettyPaisley said:


> Your reaction was not just to the tetanus vaccine. You received a dose of pertussis and diptheria vaccine as well as an unhealthy dose of aluminum phosphate and 2-phenoxyethanol. I'm sure you don't feel well.
> 
> Additionally, if you are exposed to an injury where you feel you might be at risk for tetanus (a treatable condition), you need to ask for an injection of human tetanus immunoglobulin. A "tetanus shot" (TDaP) after the fact is not an ace in the hole. Tetanus is not easy to contract. And as soon as a little oxygen gets in it it-game over. Tetanus loses. And a billion TDaP shots get all the credit.
> 
> The TDaP is the latest vaccine push on healthy adults. You've heard the commercials; "You think the safest place for your baby is in your arms but you are the one making her sick because you are breathing those awful germs all over her." (paraphrased)
> 
> **Full disclosure: I am against an overvaccinated population. :grin:
> 
> Hope you feel better.


:soap: I am in total agreement with you! Vaccines cause way more problems than they solve. The tetanus vaccine is completely unnecessary, at best, and very dangerous for many people. It is not worth the risk. I just scrub out wounds very well, pour on the peroxide, then rub in some comfrey or other homemade herbal salve (depends on the type of wound). I have found what you said about oxygen getting to it to be true, and have read the same thing in articles by MD's and ND's. The risks associated with the vaccines are much, much higher than the risks of contracting or having permanent problems from any disease that the vaccines are supposed to prevent (in my humble opinion). The long term effects are devastating, far beyond a sore arm or flu-like symptoms. People should do their own thorough research before believing everything doctors and nurses tell them. Medical professionals are trained largely with pharmaceutical money behind it. They blindly believe what they are told. I know many doctors who give vaccines all the time because they have to in order to keep their jobs, but they refuse to take vaccines, and will not allow their children and spouses to get them. Vaccines are the golden calf of the medical world (to say the least). Anyone in the medical profession who openly criticizes the pharmaceutical companies or their vaccines risks their license. One way or another they will be squeezed out of the profession. I know it's a hot topic, and I'll be blasted for it. I have in the past and I'm sure I will again. But, if what I have said makes even one person who reads it dig deeper and find out the dangers so that they save their children from vaccines, then it will be more than worth it. 

So, blast away! :viking: 

Jenny


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## VegRN

akhomesteader said:


> Anyone in the medical profession who openly criticizes the pharmaceutical companies or their vaccines risks their license. One way or another they will be squeezed out of the profession.


This is nonsense. 

I won't even respond to the rest of the post. Anyone with a little research skill could rebutt it easily.


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## fetch33

Recently had a patient who was trying to correct her diabetes with herbs. Her blood sugar was over 500 on admission. She put herself at serious risk because she wanted a 'natural' remedy. Nature isn't always best. We have to give modern medicine the credit where it is due. Lifespan has been vastly increased because of modern medicine. I'll take my vaccines instead of taking my chances.


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## titiana

There are risks with vaccines and documentation to back it up. I'm a ER nurse, I do not get the flu shot, but I do get the tetatus vaccine.

Why???

Because the flu may lay you up for a few days and though you will feel HORRIBLE, the mortality rate is very low (no matter what the media says)

But, tetanus has a mortality rate of 45% (that's how many people will die from it) and it's the most painful disease. Imagine a Charlie Horse throughout every muscle in you body, constantly for days, weeks... until you either recover (risk of perminant damage from complications) or you die screaming. 

My two cents.


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## calliemoonbeam

I had to get a tetanus shot back in 2006. Last one had been in 1995, and I gouged/scraped my hand pretty bad on a rusty, dirty screw. I was worried about the reaction, but didn't have any at all, not even any arm soreness. I was amazed!

I don't normally have reactions to the flu shot either, but four or five years ago I got sick as a dog after having one and I couldn't even raise my arm for four days. It took almost two weeks for the soreness to go away. Not sure what that was about. :shrug:

I usually get the flu shot every year just because I have chronic major illnesses and because I almost died from the flu one year. For various reasons I wasn't able to get one the last two years and didn't get really sick either...but then I'm pretty much a hermit, lol. I work at home and pretty much stay at home except to shop when I have to, but I worry that this actually makes me more susceptible since I'm not exposed to the stuff every day that most people are. Don't know if that's true, but I wonder about it.


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## limey

I had my last tetanus shot back in 1969 and had a horrible allergic reaction to it - my arm ballooned out from my elbow to my armpit. It was horrible and hurt like the dickens.

Since I muck about in the garden and usually manage to trip over or stab myself with something I thought I should try another shot. The doctor said let's check and see if you have any immunity left - I was surprised to find that the blood test shows I am still protected from tetanus. So much for needing booster shots!!

Limey


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## GoldenCityMuse

Probably my last update. There is just a slight soreness in my left arm where the shot was, and I feel back to normal after the last couple days.

My take on all this: Plan on some weakness, pain and fatigue after any vaccination. If you are planning on a trip or want to GOOD, make sure you are up to date on all the vaccinations you CHOOSE to take. Don't try to cram them in a few days before.

It is another part of the live a prepared lifestyle, not a I'll start when the power goes out.

I am thankful my reaction was mild, and It was entirely my choice as an adult to get this vaccine. For some of the other vaccines that I am at a minimal risk, I will choose not to take. As always, be informed.


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## fetch33

When I was growing up, I had an old country doctor. I got a tetanus shot EVERY year because I had horses... that was the excuse he gave anyway. I am sure he had seen people die of the disease and that help shape is views.


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## FrontPorch

Interesting. I just had one the other day and fully expected to be sore the next day. Not a thing. Didn't bother me in the least. Weird how some react and some don't.


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## Wendy

> I am in total agreement with you! Vaccines cause way more problems than they solve. The tetanus vaccine is completely unnecessary, at best, and very dangerous for many people. It is not worth the risk.


I am not so sure my friend would agree. She contracted tetanus a couple of years ago, almost died, & still has some residual problems from it.


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## akhomesteader

Wounds must be cared for *properly*. That is the key. Like all other pharmaceuticals, the tetanus vaccine is extremely dangerous for many, many people.


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## ChickenNuggets

Everything. Hurts.


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## Danaus29

Jan 8, 2021

FIDO post. It's over 10 YEARS OLD!

Please people, check the dates of posts to which you are replying and ask yourself, "Is my response really relevant".


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## Jlynnp

TheMartianChick said:


> I had a horrible reaction to the tetanus shot last year. I am actually not sure if I will ever get another one. My whole upper arm became extremely bruised with black streaks. It was extremely painful and lasted for weeks.


 My DH had his last tetanus shot after he joined the Marines many many years ago. He walked out of the med office and collapsed. He was out of it for 3 days before he came to.
No more tetanus shots for him.


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