You’ve made the choice to get vaccinated against the pathogen that is causing the current pandemic. What are some things you can do in preparation for this injection?
Common Vaccine Side Effects
This list is not all inclusive and it does not address any potential adverse reactions or vaccine injuries.
According to Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, and Astrazeneca; the most commonly experienced side effects include:
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Soreness, redness, or swelling at the injection site
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Fatigue, tiredness, or feelings of exhaustion
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Muscle aches and pains
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Fever
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Chills
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Headache
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Nausea
What Causes These Side Effects?
Pain at the injection site is likely because you have cause a trauma to the area from the needle going in as well as the space created within the muscle as the medication is being injected. This will illicit your immune response of inflammation, which causes the continued pain at the injection site and may cause swelling and redness.
For the systemic infections, such as fatigue, fever, chills, headache, nausea, and muscle pain; this is expected while your body fights this antigen. In essence, the vaccine is causing what your body believes to be a viral infection. As such, the body responds to help “kill off” the virus. Fevers develop as a way to destroy any pathogens that might be inside the body.
You could experience almost any symptom that one might experience with a mild case of covid and these symptoms tend to last less than 72 hours, though there are some people who will experience them for longer than that.
Preparing For Your Vaccine
Health and wellness is a continuum as our bodies are constantly striving for homeostasis. Every little thing we do in our day-to-day life can affect our bodies positively or negatively. Treat your body well—eat well, sleep, spend time outside, exercise, and hydrate well.
As many of the effects of this vaccine are related to inflammation, focusing on a diet that prevents or minimizes inflammation. There are a few diets out there (resources linked at end of this article) which focus on eliminating food items that may increase inflammation, such as fried foods, excessive refined carbohydrates, sugar, sweetened beverages, processed high fat meats, saturated fats, and alcohol.
These diets of course include foods that are not processed and contain a high level of antioxidants and those which contain omega-3 fatty acids. Fruits and vegetables will make up the majority of this anti-inflammatory diet, but also included are avocado, walnuts, chia seeds, coffee or tea, seeds, and dark chocolate (70% at least)… So it isn’t all bad.
Use of herbs and spices that contain anti-inflammatory properties are also recommended. This includes turmeric which is more powerful when used with black pepper. This is a common addition to my daily smoothies. We will focus on anti-inflammatory foods in another article.
It should probably go without saying this day in age, but drink enough water to stay well-hydrated..
Daily walks outside are a great way to help balance your mind and soul. I know, it sounds odd, but allowing your body to be exposed to the elements daily is important for our hormone regulation, particularly the early morning sun or the evening sun. Doing this can also help contribute to a better night’s rest.
Get enough rest and sleep. This doesn’t just mean sleeping as much as you can, but giving your body quality sleep. Much like we discussed in our Children Sleep Schedule article, having a bedtime routine, a calm environment, and avoiding blue light in the evening can help your body get into that restful mode where sleep quality is optimized.
https://healthsystem.osumc.edu/pteduc/docs/Anti-Inflammatory.pdf
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/diet-reviews/anti-inflammatory-diet/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation
