The cold season is here again. This means you are more likely to suffer from flu than in any other season. That’s why it’s recommended you get a flu shot at the onset of the season. It’s said that prevention is better than cure. This is because treating a disease tends to be more costly than preventing it in the first place. But most people tend to be ignorant when it comes to protecting themselves against this deadly illness. Maybe it’s because the shot is not compulsory. Research actually shows that 50 percent of deaths that are reported every year are caused by the flu. Here is a list of tips that can guide you in getting your flu shot.
1. Find a Clinic Near you
You don’t have to travel many miles to get a flu shot. In fact, you can get the shot from the nearest health clinic and save time. And since it’s not a life threatening situation, you should avoid going to a public health facility because they usually have long queues of patients that are waiting to be treated. You can use the internet to find a clinic in your neighborhood that specializes in urgent care. The advantage of getting vaccination from such clinics is that they don’t keep you waiting like the big hospitals. You simply walk in and get an injection in a couple of minutes.
2. Book an Appointment
Although urgent care clinics don’t handle many patients, it’s still important you book an appointment before going for the vaccination. Booking an appointment is actually very simple. You only need to call the clinic and tell the receptionist that you will be going for a flu vaccination on a certain day. The good thing is that you can get the shot at any time of the day. But if you are a busy professional, you have the option of either going for the injection early in the morning or in the evening after work.
3. Decide on the Arm to be Injected
On the appointed day, you will have to decide on the arm that will be injected. Some people have varied preferences when it comes to this. If the shot is injected on the arm that you use more often, the vaccine will definitely be distributed faster in the bloodstream. The downside is that you might get a swelling on the part where the needle pierces your skin. Fortunately, the swelling goes away with time, especially if you apply some mild pressure on the arm. If you opt to be injected on the hand that is less active, the vaccine will spread in your body slowly.
4. Relax your Muscles
If you have ever felt any pain during an injection, it’s possibly because your muscles get hard due to anxiety. The other problem is that hardening the muscles makes it difficult for the doctor to spot the veins. After walking into the injection room, you should take a few minutes to calm your nerves. This guarantees that the muscles are in a relaxed mode to allow a resistance free injection. Once the doctor is done, you should take a painkiller as it helps in easing the pain.