[leethomas]

They said it's normal to faint after receiving a flu shot? Hasn't heard of that happening to people before. What was the explanation?

[V__]

It's not the shot itself, it's the injection/getting stabbed. I think I fainted four or five times in my life due to injections/blood draws. I have to lay down look away and control my breathing otherwise I'm gone. It is a pain in the ass and I get light anxiety from it.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

Same. I also realized I can't get acupuncture due to this, I will just faint

[derefr]

I’m curious if there’s a refractory period. (I.e. if you faint and come to after the first needle goes in, then maybe you’re “past it”, and the rest won’t bother you?)

[V__]

I'm really curious but I don't think I could get myself to try it.

My gut feeling is that there is a refractory period but it would still feel like shit because it takes time until my blood pressure returns to normal.

[toast0]

Normal maybe isn't the right word, but it's an expected possibility, the FDA has a page about it [1], and that's one reason FDA recommends patients be observed for 15 minutes after a vaccination, especially for types they haven't had before.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/fainting.html

[snvzz]

Somewhere in EU, I (and everybody else) was told to wait 15m before leaving the area after the vaccine.

This is no doubt because of the possibility of such events.

[i67vw3]

In my school, they started taking blood tests during annual medical checkup. (certified doctors & parents permission).

100 students participated in the blood tests out of which I think atleast 4 fainted. The test was done by just piercing a small needle, & not the actual extraction of large amount of blood. The analogy is slightly different than a vaccine shot, but nonetheless the setup is same by using needle.