After a vaccination, soreness and maybe minor swelling at the injection site are common post-vaccination reactions. The reactions you experience depend on the vaccine. Some people experience mild flu-like symptoms after a COVID or flu shot. A shingles vaccination may be worse with joint pain and a headache adding to your discomfort.
Depending on the shot, some people also experience a low-grade fever, tiredness, and other flu-like symptoms. It’s caused by the body’s immune response as it develops antibodies to fight the disease that’s been introduced in a small amount. That response triggers inflammation that makes the fibrous tissue in the body swell slightly.
That’s a normal reaction to an immunization. What about those that are more alarming? Here are some of the signs to watch for and when you should go to urgent care.
Why Go to Urgent Care and Not the ER?
Most people instinctively think of the ER when it comes to emergency care when a doctor’s office is closed. There are a few reasons why this isn’t the best first choice. The most important is that emergency departments are designed for life-or-death emergencies. While they’ll take anyone, the wait is going to be a lot longer if you’re not a high priority over something like a victim of a violent crime, a person in a car crash, or someone having a heart attack.
With staffing shortages across the nation, the average time spent in an ER is about 2 hours and 40 minutes. In California, the average wait is about 4 hours and 34 minutes per Blue Shield of California.
Meanwhile, urgent care doctors are well-equipped to help with allergic reactions, injuries from falls, and so much more. The wait times are far less, too. Blue Shield of California finds urgent care waits are usually under an hour.
Urgent care centers should be your first choice for most post-vaccination reactions, especially if your doctor is unavailable. Urgent care practices are open into the evening and have weekend hours, which makes them very convenient. You can also get in line before you leave your home, and that shortens any wait time you experience.
Once you’ve been to an urgent care doctor for treatment, that doctor will communicate what happened. Your primary care physician knows what the medical diagnosis and treatment were and makes sure your medical file is updated for future reference. If the reaction was caused by an allergy to eggs, vaccines containing that protein are best avoided in the future and alternatives can be chosen instead.
Three Levels of Post-Vaccination Reactions
After a vaccination, reactions include mild ones, moderate ones, or severe reactions. You need to determine the level of the reactions you’re having and use that information to determine if it’s important to go to an urgent care clinic.
- Mild Reactions: Pain and swelling at the injection site, low-grade fever, joint and muscle pain, and lack of energy.
- Moderate Reactions: Nausea, vomiting, headache, and itching at the injection site.
- Severe Reactions: Difficulty breathing, dizziness, blisters at the injection site or on the body, rapid heart rate, swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat, and hives.
Mild reactions can be treated with an NSAID pain reliever like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Moderate or severe reactions should be seen by a doctor.
If you’re not sure the reaction you’re having is normal, see an urgent care doctor. It’s better to be seen and learn it’s nothing alarming than to hope for the best and risk impacting your health.
How Can Urgent Care Help With Post-Vaccination Reactions?
It’s worth talking to a doctor about any symptoms you’re having that you’re not certain are common. Make sure you’re staying hydrated after getting an immunization. Take medications to lower a fever and ease inflammation triggering the pain you experience.
For moderate reactions, a doctor can rule out possible allergic reactions and complications. You’ll have medical advice on how to treat the symptoms. It’s also helpful in finding out if there’s an underlying medical condition that caused the reaction you’re experiencing. You might have shingles and not realize it, and that’s what’s causing the rash and nerve pain. This makes it possible to treat shingles with antiviral medications that can help ease your discomfort until the virus passes.
Allergy tests can determine what your body is reacting to. You may have developed an allergy to eggs, and a component of eggs was in that immunization. You have important information for future immunizations. When you need the next booster, your urgent care doctor can direct your doctor to what you’re going to need. You can also return to urgent care for all of your future immunization needs.
Severe reactions can be life-threatening. A doctor can administer treatments that protect you from harm. If hospitalization is required, you’ll have the doctor there to ensure the hospital is aware of the situation and has treatments and a bed ready for you.
What About Telehealth?
Telehealth is an option, but the doctor may be limited when it comes to treatments. The doctor must go by what you’re saying and what is visible through the computer camera. It’s not the same. Telehealth is an effective way to judge mental state and something like a skin rash, but it doesn’t provide the same insight as a face-to-face visit offers.
Make Your Urgent Care Visit Smoothly
It’s best to go to Premium Urgent Care to have your post-vaccination reactions addressed by a doctor. Use online check-in to speed up any wait time. You can also print out any necessary forms online and have them ready for the registration staff.
When you see the doctor, have vaccine information ready to share. Tell the doctor where you got the immunization and what shot it was. The doctor needs to know the exact shot, such as whether you had Fluzone or Fluarix for a yearly flu shot.
Finally, be honest. Your doctor needs to diagnose you properly and that requires you to be honest. If you’re experiencing severe joint pain, don’t make the pain seem less than it is. If you’re experiencing something you’re not certain is related to the shot, such as a leg cramp, don’t leave it out. It could be part of the reaction you’re having, so it’s important to share it even if you went hiking a day earlier and you think it’s related to that. It might be, but it could be a rare side effect that must be addressed.