The Real Reason You Might Feel Nauseous After The Flu Shot

When it feels like everyone around you is down and out with the flu, it may be time to up your hygiene game and keep some distance. Being sick with the flu is no fun. According to WebMD, the flu virus is incredibly contagious and causes symptoms that'll have you throwing a pity party for one soon after being infected. The virus can spread through droplets from an infected person sneezing or coughing. In addition, you could also be infected if you have touched a surface contaminated with the flu virus and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes.

A renewed commitment to your hygiene and maintaining your distance from coughs and sneezes that come your way is a great way to maintain your health. However, you might want to consider getting the flu vaccine for extra protection as well. Infectious disease expert, Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, tells Prevention that getting a flu vaccine is the best insurance for avoiding getting knocked out by the dreaded flu. "[The] flu is unpredictable and the vaccine is the best way to prevent it from impacting your life," he says.

Getting a flu shot may increase your protective armor against the flu. However, you should be aware that the shot comes with possible side effects. Prevention lists coughing, sneezing, a low-grade fever, fatigue, dizziness, and injection site soreness as possible side effects. In addition, you should be on the lookout for nausea, but why does the shot sometimes give us flu-like symptoms? "When you get the shot, it revs your body up," Dr. Christine Alexander, chair of family medicine at MetroHealth, told ABC 5. "It makes what we call antibodies, which are the things that fight off the virus itself. That process of making the antibodies feels very much like what happens when you're getting sick."

If you experience nausea or any of the other common symptoms of the flu shot, it is likely a sign the vaccine is working as your body works hard to create antibodies. Nausea inflicted by the flu shot may be uncomfortable to deal with for a day or two. However, it may be worth protecting yourself from the actual flu, which often leaves many of us suffering for much longer.