Tetanus boosters can make you faint
I recently got a tetanus booster, as you’re advised to do every 10 years. The nurse warned me my arm might be sore for a few days. She did not mention I could pass out. It’s pure luck it didn’t happen while I was driving. I had never passed out from a tetanus booster before. And yes, in my case it was definitely a reaction to the something in the injection rather than a fear of needles. The fainting spell – which was the scariest I’ve ever experienced (yes, I have fainted a couple of times before) – was followed by a bad headache, continued lightheadedness, extreme nausea and lots of vomiting – also known side effects of several vaccinations. For the next ten hours, it was all I could do to stay conscious.
After the whole episode was over, I called the doctor’s office and suggested they consider warning people, or at least asking patients if they are prone to passing out, and then advising them to stay at the doctor’s office for half an hour after the shot in case they react like I did. The doctor seems to think it’s a normal (if uncommon) reaction and I very much doubt she will take my suggestion seriously.
So I’m taking it upon myself to warn you: vaccines can make you faint. If you are at all prone to passing out, make arrangements not to drive immediately after getting vaccinations. I am not trying to scare you from getting vaccinations and booster shots. The vast majority of people have absolutely no reaction beyond a mildly sore arm that lasts a few days. But if you’re one of the few unlucky, you definitely do not want to be driving when it happens. It’s also a good idea not to be alone for about thirty minutes after your shot – whether you stay at the doctor’s office or go home with someone who can take care of you if anything happens.
I realize there is a big debate over whether the pros of vaccinations outweigh the cons. I’m not taking a stand either way on that. One website I found recommends that if you’ve fainted from a vaccine before, it may be better not to receive further vaccinations because your next reaction could be more severe. My doctor dismissed that but didn’t bother to share her reasoning, so I’m definitely going to get a second opinion, and maybe a third.
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Posted in Health and Beauty on July 16, 2009
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When I had my last tetanus booster the nurse told me I had to wait for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour before they’d let me go home. That was a very good thing because before that time my arm had swollen to almost twice the normal size, I ended up losing almost a week of work because I was so ill. My doctor told me afterwards to never get another booster because the reaction would only get worse!
I would definitely get a second opinion because it sounds as if your doctor isn’t listening to your concerns which can only lead to problems down the road.
I had the tetanus booster as an adolescent and passed out in the doctor’s waiting room 20 minutes later. I am also prone to fainting as a result of prolonged exposure to heat or not eating enough. I had the hpv vaccination (even after telling my doctor about my history of poor responses to vaccines) and was told that there are very rarely adverse side effects to it. Two hours later, I indeed fainted. My boyfriend called the doctor who administered the shot and she told me that it couldn’t have possibly been from the vaccine, that it was probably anxiety. Needless to say, I will not be seeing this doctor, or continuing the series of hpv vaccinations.
After receiving my most recent tetanus booster (and meningitis injection during the same visit) at age 21, I experienced passing out. The shots went uncommonly well and I was more relaxed than I have ever been when getting an injection. When my shots were finished my doctor led me back to the front counter, gave me my paper work, and sent me on my way. When I was walking back to my car I started to feel nauseous, but just associated it with the fact that I had yet to eat breakfast that morning (only a handful of crackers so I wouldn’t be taking Ibuprofen on an empty stomach. I got to my car, opened the door, and rolled down the windows because it was 85 degrees outside, let alone in the car. Still feeling nauseous I turned on the car and the AC, hoping the cool air would bring down my temperature and end the hot sweats that had begun. After only a few seconds of sitting there my vision faded and I realized that I was about to pass out. I was so afraid that I was having an allergic reaction, and survival must have kicked in, because all I was thinking about at that point was that it suddenly felt like night time and the worst thing I could do was pass out in my car with it running and the windows down. While in the process of passing out I managed to roll up my windows, shut off the car, get out and lock the door, trek across the parking lot, hike up a flight of stairs, and navigate through the hallways back to my doctors office. I barely remember getting out of the car, let alone doing all of that. When I got into the office I walked up to the receptionist behind the glass and told her, more or less, that I was about to pass out. The doctor and nurses rushed out and sat me down in a chair and gave me a cold pack. I told them I felt like I was going to throw up, they handed me the waste basket. After a couple of minutes, I moved into one of the rooms and laid down on the bed in front of the air conditioning. A few minutes of the cold air finally left me shivering and feeling much better. I’m very thankful that I hadn’t started driving by the time I began losing my vision; it could’ve been an even more frightening situation than it was.