Shot site red & hard?

tak2002

Henry had a shot on Friday morning. His leg is red and has a hard lump where the shot was given. Anyone else have this happen? I don't want to call the pedi. for a stupid question on a holiday weekend.

MrsErinnElizabeth

This happened for DD's six month shots.  It was hot too.  I was sure it was infected, but my doctor BIL said that it was relatively normal for a few days after the shot.  Unless it started getting worse and obviously causing her pain, it was fine.  It went away after 3 or 4 days if I remember correctly.

In saying that, when I got my whooping cough vaccine way back when, I had the same thing happen to my arm, and it did turn out to be infected.  However, it lasted for like a week and wasn't getting any better.

Hope Henry feels better soon!!  

JulieandBen

It happens if your baby tightens up during a shot. My little one's left leg was hot, bright red, and hard after his shot. He screamed and screamed that evening. A warm bath helped bring down the pain and redness within seconds.

bim38106

JulieandBen:

It happens if your baby tightens up during a shot. My little one's left leg was hot, bright red, and hard after his shot. He screamed and screamed that evening. A warm bath helped bring down the pain and redness within seconds.

This. It's actually quite common.

However, if you notice the circle getting wider and/or a red line leading outwards (usually pointed towards the heart), then it's a blood infection and you need to get him on antibiotics ASAP. I've had that happen twice now. The first time I let it go, not knowing, and I can tell you that pain was probably some of the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life! So my guess would be your LO would be extremely upset if that were the case. But I did get it again a few weeks ago and recognized it and the pain was pretty mild since I caught it early and the antibiotics kicked in soon enough.