Autumn is the time when many people resort to flu vaccinations. Vaccination makes it possible to avoid a dangerous disease with its many complications in the winter. But before you go to the clinic, you need to find out what consequences may arise after the introduction of the drug for vaccination.
Vaccination
In order to understand why you get a fever after a flu shot, you need to know how the flu shot works.
The human immune system is needed to detect pathogenic organisms and neutralize them. When a virus or antigen enters the body, the immune system reacts to it by releasing antibodies into the bloodstream. It is at this point that a person is faced with an increase in temperature. After the immune system has overcome an infection, it develops a certain resistance to it.
It is resistance to the virus that is developed after the introduction of the vaccine into the body. Why is stability not maintained for life, and a person is forced to come to the treatment room every year? The main reason for this is the fact that the flu strain changes everyyear. Moreover, it is impossible to develop a vaccine that will completely destroy the future strain of the virus. But through the efforts of epidemiologists, the likelihood of the vaccine being effective is very high.
Can I have multiple vaccinations at the same time? Quite. Together with the flu shot, you can inject vaccines against rubella, measles, mumps, polio. But all of them should be injected with syringes and into different parts of the human body.
Fever after vaccination
If the temperature has risen after the flu shot, there is nothing strange or pathological about it. Despite the fact that the virus in the vaccine is in an inactive, killed or very weak form, the body perceives the drug as a foreign protein that needs to be fought.
This is how the body's natural defense mechanism against the influenza virus is formed: when the virus enters the body naturally from the source of infection, the immune system can quickly overcome the antigens.
Does fever always rise after vaccination?
The reaction to a vaccine depends on many factors, as well as the severity of symptoms against the background of a particular disease. Adaptation systems weakened as a result of the introduction of serum for vaccination of the body may behave differently.
So one person will not experience any discomfort after vaccination, while the other will face an increase in body temperature.
But it is important to know, in the role of the reason why after the flu shot rosetemperature can be influenced by various factors. And in order to correctly assess your well-being, you need to consider all these factors.
Vaccination against the background of a cold
Among the rules for preparing for vaccination, the main one is the absence of contraindications. And a viral disease, including a cold, does not allow serum to be introduced into the body. But the fact is that any disease has an incubation period, and a cold can exist latently for up to a week. And a person, not knowing about the existing pathology, can be vaccinated and in the near future feel symptoms of malaise, which include fever.
Stress after vaccination
Sometimes a fever after a vaccine is a response to stress. For example, if a person experiences emotional discomfort while visiting a medical facility, the natural physiological response to stress will be to activate the sympathetic nervous system and, as a result, increase the temperature.
For an adult, this situation is rare, but it is quite common for a child to have a fever after a flu shot.
What temperature could it be?
In a he althy person, an increase in temperature may occur 1-3 days after the injection, while the indicator on the thermometer should not exceed 37.5 degrees. The temperature can be easily brought down with medication if necessary. But in most cases, the rise in temperature occurs in the evening, so a person just needs to lie down.sleep so that you can wake up feeling normal in the morning.
Warning signs
Fever after a flu shot in an adult or child is not the only warning sign to pay close attention to.
Symptoms that indicate an abnormal response to the flu vaccine include:
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea and abdominal pain;
- weakness;
- dizziness and fainting;
- itching and skin rashes;
- changing skin color to yellowish, blue or green;
- a bump appears at the injection site.
If these signs appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. The most likely cause of such somatic manifestations is an infection in a latent form that was already present in the body.
How to avoid complications?
To avoid situations when, after a flu shot, the temperature rises above 37 degrees, you need to know exactly the list of contraindications for vaccination:
- acute period of any disease, including exacerbations;
- serious pathologies of internal organs (lungs, liver, kidneys, heart) in a chronic form;
- immunodeficiency;
- autoimmune diseases;
- atherosclerosis and hypertension;
- chicken protein allergy;
- pregnancy in the last trimester.
Why can't the vaccine be administered during an exacerbation of the disease? The fact is that any active pathology in the body is always accompanied by an increase in the activity of immunity. Therefore, the reaction tothe introduced serum may be brighter and more pronounced.
Precautions, contraindications and side effects should be discussed by the attending physician to the patient before vaccination. If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of vaccination against the background of certain diseases, you should definitely discuss this issue with your doctor.
Fever Prevention
In order for the temperature not to go up rapidly after the flu shot, you should follow some recommendations, and generally know how to prepare for vaccination. These tips are especially relevant for young children, whose body reacts more sensitively to such medical manipulations.
- 2nd generation antihistamines, taken as directed three days before the day of vaccination and then 1 day after, reduce the risk of adverse effects after the injection.
- An antipyretic drug such as ibuprofen can be taken on the day of vaccination and for up to 24 hours after vaccination. It is better for a child to put a candle with an antipyretic effect, for example, "Viferon".
- After vaccination, it is recommended to rest, lie down in a calm environment. It is better for the child to create conditions that will allow him to escape from the visit to the hospital and relax. It is better to replace study, active play and sports with calm games, reading books.
- After vaccination, you need to monitor the diet, excluding all allergens and new, previously untested products from the menu.
If you don't have a high fever after a flu shot for a couple of days, you can return to your usual pastime.
If I have a temperature, what should I do?
If the fever does start, it is necessary to assess the extent of the problem. Temperature up to 37, 5-38 degrees is absolutely normal. It indicates that the immune system works well, sensitively reacts to viruses penetrating the body and seeks to quickly destroy them.
You can ease your condition in the following ways:
- take paracetamol or ibuprofen (aspirin during fever is not recommended, especially for children);
- wipe the body with a sponge with cool water, paying attention to the armpits, neck, inner and back of the thighs;
- drink more fluids;
- ventilate the room;
- rest and sleep.
In the event that after a flu shot the temperature is 39 and above, you should immediately call a doctor. Most likely, after the examination, the doctor will prescribe antibiotic therapy, based on the symptoms present. Do not worry and think about the exceptional harm of vaccination. According to statistics, fever after vaccination in 6 out of 10 cases is a consequence of a viral or bacterial infection in the incubation period. That is, the disease would come regardless of whether the person was vaccinated or not.
When will the temperature drop?
If the temperature of the body did not rise due to a latent currentother diseases, but was the body's reaction to serum, as a rule, it rises on the first day, can last the second day and normalize on the third day.
So if a person complains that they have a high temperature a week after the flu shot, it is highly likely that the fever and vaccination do not correlate with each other.
But there are exceptions to any rule, because the body of each person is individual.
Do I need prophylaxis after vaccination?
There is an opinion that the flu vaccination has such a pronounced effect that throughout the season a person may not bother with measures to prevent infectious diseases.
In fact, this opinion has nothing to do with reality.
Firstly, influenza vaccination protects only against influenza, and a person catches a cold, catches the ARI virus, SARS and others.
Secondly, vaccination is not so much a way to completely protect yourself from the virus as to minimize the risk of developing life-threatening complications. That is, the flu after vaccination may occur, but the disease will be transferred quickly and easily, since the immune system “knows” the mechanism for dealing specifically with this virus.
Finally, there are several strains of influenza, so there is still a small risk of getting sick.
So, during the epidemic, a vaccinated person, as well as a person who has not been vaccinated, should avoid a large placecrowds, wear gauze bandages, use oxolin ointment, wash hands and ventilate the room.
