Autumn is upon us, bringing with it something everyone could do without: flu season.
With Covid thrown into the mix as well, it's important to protect yourself as much as possible.
Like Covid, experts are encouraging people to get the flu vaccine this winter with certain groups offered it for free on the NHS.
Society has become pretty familiar with vaccines this year, so you perhaps know that side effects after a jab are possible.
The same is true of the flu vaccine, but the good news is that they normally don't last very long and are usually much milder in comparison to actually catching the flu.
Here's what you need to know about the flu vaccine side effects and how to treat them...
What are the side effects of the flu vaccine?
According to the NHS, side effects of the flu vaccine can include:
- muscle aches
- tenderness, swelling and/or redness at the injection site
- headache
- fever (temperature 38°C or above)
- feeling generally unwell
A fever is most likely to develop within the first 48 hours after the flu jab and should usually go away within 48 hours.
If the fever starts 48 hours after the flu vaccine, it is unlikely to be a side effect of the jab and could be Covid, so you should self-isolate and book a PCR test.
How to treat the side effects of the flu jab?
Generally the side effects should only last a day or so, however there are still some tips to treat them.
If you have a sore arm from the jab, the NHS recommends continuing to move your arm regularly.
Taking a painkiller such as paracetamol or ibuprofen may also help.
How long does it take the flu vaccine to work?
The flu vaccine can take between 10-14 days to work.
Like the Covid vaccine, it may not completely prevent you from catching the flu but will likely mean you have much milder symptoms if you do get ill.
It also means that you are much less likely to pass the flu on to other people.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel