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Original poster

Silly question about actually having the jab

29 replies

Puzzledandpissedoff · 26/02/2021 10:40

I'll be honest and say I'm a hopeless needle phobe (or rather I was) to the point of avoiding IM injections for over 30 years ... but yesterday I had the first AZ jab and felt quite literally nothing

It goes without saying I'm delighted, but I wondered if there's anyone on here who can tell me how this works? After all skin and muscles have pain receptors, so I just don't get how they can shove an (admittedly thin) needle into them with absolutely no sensation at all

And yes, I realise there are a lot more things going on than my silliness, but I like to understand things and would be really grateful if anyone out there can help me to understand this

OP posts:

makingmyway10 · 26/02/2021 13:45

No idea sorry but I had mine this morning (Pfizer) and felt absolutely nothing at all! That is the first time I have ever had a vaccination and I have not felt anything at all! My arm is a bit achey jus though.

Anotherdayanotherdollar · 26/02/2021 13:46

Also had az and felt nothing... Not even a pinch/"sharp scratch" like they usually say...

palacegirl77 · 26/02/2021 14:07

Yep same here. I had Pfizer. Only know I had it because it ached a little the next day and I had a few side effects, but never felt it go in - didnt even need a cotton wool ball on it or anything. Partner had AZ and said the exact same - never felt a thing.

rosie1959 · 26/02/2021 14:09

The needles are so fine you feel nothing

MagnoliatheMagnificent · 26/02/2021 14:09

Distraction? Were you chatting to the person who gave it to you? If you're relaxed then it makes a huge difference..

0blio · 26/02/2021 14:11

Apparently because the dose is so tiny, only a very thin needle is used hence people feeling nothing or not very much.
It's horrible to be needle phobic so I'm glad you had a good experience OP.

When I was a child I needed a lot of injections and needles were sterilised and reused, the blunter ones bloody hurt!

SendMeYourSpuds · 26/02/2021 14:12

years ago I went to an African country, had some jabs, same person gave them all to me in rapid succession.

2 of the jabs I didn't feel at all. That arm then became quite sore for many days afterwards.

The other 2 jabs hurt a lot going in but fine an hour later & never again.

I have no idea why.

Haveyoubrushedyourteeth · 26/02/2021 14:13

I think perhaps (although I'm probably completely wrong) that it's to do with both how fine the needle is, the skill of the person doing it, and also how thick the stuff they're injecting into you is too?

Doireallyneedaname · 26/02/2021 14:18

I think it’s such an overwhelming situation that I found for myself, at least, I was totally fixated on what was actually happening to even notice the injection happening. If I’d been sat in a nurses office in the GP’s I’d have probably felt more.

Milkshake7489 · 26/02/2021 14:27

Like PP have said, it's probably a combination of a fine needle and the skill of the person giving the injection.

It's surprising how much difference a skilled pair of hands can make. For example, I've had lots of blood tests recently and I'm a nightmare to get blood from. Some were quite painful, others were a 'sharp scratch', and two I didn't even realise had happened until they showed me the blood!

AnneOfCleavage · 26/02/2021 14:32

That's so interesting. I wasn't expecting to feel anything as everyone I've spoken to haven't felt it but I definitely felt it and the nurse said my muscle twitched when it went in and it bled a bit after. She said I'd get a bruise. It still hurts two days later but no bruise as such as yet.
I don't know if I was tense or not but maybe not being relaxed was why I felt it. I didn't feel unrelaxed as far as I know and am not needle phobic.

Rollergirl11 · 26/02/2021 14:38

I had mine done 2 hours ago and I definitely felt it go in and it stung a little after as well as there being a little blood.

Pranct · 26/02/2021 14:40

I am convinced it is partly relaxation and partly the person giving me the job as it really varies.

Excited101 · 26/02/2021 14:44

Mine was quite a significant scratch and I had quite bad side effects too. I was very nervous about it though, I’m not sure I was very relaxed at all!!

ShowOfHands · 26/02/2021 14:49

I'm incredibly relaxed about injections and never feel them. Same with having blood taken. DD is the same. DH is needle phobic and DS doesn't like them and they always flinch and complain. I think it's a combination of factors.

Original poster

Puzzledandpissedoff · 26/02/2021 14:59

Apparently because the dose is so tiny, only a very thin needle is used hence people feeling nothing or not very much

Ah yes, now that would explain a lot - I hadn't realised the dose was very small

Anyway, even if the second one hurts twice as much, twice nothing is still not a worry so maybe I can afford to relax at last (which will probably help in itself!!)

OP posts:

MereDintofPandiculation · 26/02/2021 15:08

Pain depends on whether they hit a nerve ending. Smaller needle means bigger chance of missing.

I used to be needle -phobic. Pregnancy and various illnesses requiring lots of blood tests, not to mention tooth fillings, means I no longer worry. So you may find in another 30 years you no longer worry either

crazylikechocolate · 26/02/2021 15:11

Like pp I had the az last week and felt nothing at the time of being injected and no side effects afterwards ( apart from feeling a bit of bruising at injection site when DP hugged me and congratulated me for having no side effects ! )

SWnewstart · 28/02/2021 05:32

How much vaccine is actually injected? When you see TV pics of the syringe "sucking up" liquid from the bottle it seems quite a lot. Does all that get injected? If so, I wouldn't call that a tiny amount as a PP mentioned!

Also, do you get to choose which arm?

Motorina · 28/02/2021 07:03

Pfizer is 0.3ml
Oxford is 0.5ml

For comparison, a teaspoon is 5ml and a dental injection is 2.2ml.

In terms of whether you feel it or not, the skin is studded with detectors. In some bits of the body (the fingers) they’re really close together. In some (the back) they’re a fair way apart. You can test this with two pencils. Have a volunteer prick your back at the same time with either one or two - how far apart do they have to be before you can be confident if it is one prick or two? Now do the same on your hand. The distance will be much less because the detectors are closer together.

Because the needle is so fine there’s a good chance of it not triggering a detector. No detector triggered then no sensation. Mosquitoes do the same - the needle they use to suck is so fine you don’t even feel it.

SWnewstart · 28/02/2021 07:41

Thank you Motorina. I now have another silly questiion! From the amount of vaccine you mention, there's obviously more in the container so I presume it's a case of new needle used, not new bottle, each time. For some reason I had it in my head that it was actually a new bottle!

MarinPrime · 28/02/2021 07:50

I felt nothing, no swab or bleeding after. As I didn't watch the needle going in and felt fine the rest of the day I wondered if I'd actually had the vaccine!
So I was quite pleased when I woke up the next day with a headache and aches and pains.

Nacreous · 28/02/2021 07:57

@SWnewstart

Each bottle has between 6 (Pfizer) and 10 (AZ) doses in. This is inconvenient for running the programme because it makes e.g. vaccinating housebound patients difficult but reduces the volume of glassware required for the vaccines which is one of the production bottlenecks. Some of the bottles are overfilled and with thin, low-wastage syringes you can get up to 11-12 doses out of a ten dose bottle.

AnneOfCleavage · 28/02/2021 10:23

SW yes, I was asked which arm I wanted the vaccine going into. Mine was quite high up the arm in the muscle which was higher up than I was anticipating. It hurt going in like I said.

ancientgran · 28/02/2021 10:56

Not quite the same but taking blood from me is a bit like getting blood out of a stone. I once had a junior doctor almost in tears as she struggled again and again to get any blood. A couple of years ago I had genetic tests as my family have the BRCA gene. I saw the top genetics consultant in my region, I just happened to get him as I was willing to go at short notice and someone cancelled and I got a call and got there fast. He got a needleful of blood with no problem and no pain. He thought it was quite funny that I was so amazed but he clearly was very good at taking blood. I suppose it is similar with vaccinators?

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