Fainting while getting an injection is likely caused by mental stress or fear and does not have permanent effects, a pediatric infectious disease specialist said yesterday.
With many schools arranging student vaccinations on campuses, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) asked National Taiwan University Hospital pediatrician Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) how to avoid fainting when getting an injection.
“The physical symptoms most often occur in adolescents,” Lee said, adding that these could include dizziness, nausea, headache, tinnitus, chest tightness, fatigue, palpitations and fainting.
“These symptoms are a reaction to extreme anxiety and will dissipate after a few days or weeks,” he said.
“Try to relax and not overthink getting an injection,” Lee said.
“This can help avert the symptoms,” he said.
Lee said that when a group of students line up for a vaccination, the symptoms can occur collectively because nervousness can spread among the group.
He said that if students faint or have other reactions to injections, they should contact school healthcare practitioners and rest for a while to ease their minds, but if the symptoms persist, they should seek medical attention.
Students are not a high-risk group for severe flu complications, but they have a higher risk of transmitting the disease in class, Lee said.
The CDC said that getting vaccinated is the most effective method to prevent seasonal flu infection.
It said that cases of enterovirus infections are increasing, with statistics from last week showing 11,068 reported cases across the nation, a 17.8 percent increase compared with the previous week.
Coxsackie A virus is the most common, and, as of Monday, 149 sporadic enterovirus type 71 cases had been reported this year, including 128 cases with mild symptoms and 21 with severe complications, the centers said.
Enteroviruses are strongly infectious and can easily spread in homes and educational or nursing facilities, so if a young child is diagnosed with enterovirus, parents should keep them from other children to reduce the risk of spreading the disease, it said.
Parents should look for symptoms such as sleepiness, unconsciousness, poor vitality, weakness of the limbs, myoclonic seizure, continuous vomiting, shortness of breath or rapid heartbeat, which can be signs of severe complications in a child with enterovirus.
They should seek medical treatment immediately, it said.
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