Entire Upper Arm Pink After Flu Shot

Ice and Benedryl. Especially way before bedtime so you can gage his reaction to the Benedryl before he goes down for bed.

A bit of a pain in the butt to have a reaction, but nothing like having the flu...

I get better info from our pharmacist about this kind of thing. My daughter had a weird reaction to a medication and the pharmacist had a data base, the hotline to the manufacturer, a list of of reactions, and excellent knowledge. Of course, you don't go to the pharmacy for a life-threatening situation, but in the event of itching or redness or weird spots (that was the situation with my daughter), when there appears to be no impaired breathing or crisis, a pharmacist can provide you with great answers. Their area of expertise is medications, whether they're routine immunizations or prescriptions. They can access all kinds of help. My pharmacist realized that my daughter was having an allergic reaction (though not one that required emergency intervention), entered her information into her record so that she would never receive that medication or its related pharmacy products again, and put me in touch with the manufacturer immediately. I spoke with a rep (a medical professional, not a salesperson) who questioned me about the reaction and took careful notes for their internal records (they record all reported reactions for future studies and for their own research).

Again, I stress that my daughter was not suffering an anaphylactic reaction, was breathing comfortably, had no swelling of her tongue or mouth. This was a rash, but it was literally everywhere on her entire body The pharmacist told me that had she been given this particular medication again, there would have been a great risk that the next reaction would be more severe and potentially much more dangerous.

Don't get flu shots!

This happened to one of my daughters and it turned out to be a mild reaction to a preservative in the flu shot itself. We gave her an icepack for her arm and applied liquid Benadryl to the area and also gave her tablet Benadryl for two days. It worked. No further reaction and the redness dissipated quickly. We then switch all the kids to the FluMist nasal inhaler vaccine. No shot in the arm, just a sniff. The very first time FluMist is given, it might cause a bit of runny nose and a headache but after that.....nothing. Subsequent vaccines with FluMist had no reaction at all. I prefer that to the shots 100%. So do the kids, of course!

I'd talk to the doctor. Sounds like a mild reaction. If he's allergic to eggs, for example, that can be a cause. I would also see if it's around where the bandage was, too. Could be like Mel said and a reaction to that.

No, I haven't seen this or heard of it from other parents. I would phone the doctor's office pronto and ask about it but before doing so--I would tell him, "I will not get mad or anything if you tell me the truth; did you maybe rub and rub at the place you got the shot, because it was sore or itchy at first?" Not saying he did do that, but it's what occurred to me, especially if there is no swelling or the skin does not seem unusually tight. Still, worth asking the doctor's office if they want him to come in or if this is something they have seen before.

My child sometimes got reactions not to any shots but to the adhesive on the band-aid used on her arm!

We get our flu shots every year and none of us have ever had a reaction beyond feeling a little tired for a few days.

You did call his doc, right?

That can be some allergic reaction. You should contact your doctor for sure

My kids have never had the flu shot. Hope he feels better. Good luck.