Yellow Fever Innoculations! Should you or shouldn't you?

We are headed for the Amazon in the new year. Booking the trip was the easy part, but getting the Brazil visa and all the necessary shots, well, that's quite another affair. And, unfortunately, because of all the diseases spread by nasty Amazonian mosquitoes, a Yellow Fever shot is a must.


Because I am dealing with the side effects of a Yellow Fever shot, I thought I'd share.


I think the worst part is the anxiety. According to the health nurse who gave us our shots, there is only a 5% chance of being one of the very unlucky few who can actually die from the shot. But because the Yellow Fever shot is composed of a live virus, we must wait out the 5-10 day incubation period, so I have to await the final outcome.


My husband got his shot the same day and apart from a little tenderness in the first few hours following the shot, he seems to be one of the lucky ones who will experience no side effects.


But I am not so lucky.


I take no drugs at all, of any kind, not even an aspirin, so I am very sensitive to anything new being introduced into my body.


At first, I experienced a slight soreness in the injection area. No big deal, I just made sure I didn't lie on my arm. But today, I am experiencing much more. Pain and tenderness runs under my arm, through the muscle below the injection site, and all through my armpit, my lymph nodes, and up into my neck muscles. This is not good; I teach a class today.


But I will tough it out. We'll see if this is just a passing thing. I truly hope it is.

Cheers,
Sheree