Let Me Make One Thing Perfectly Clear

Yesterday was the second round of "childhood immunizations." Not a big deal at all. It cracks me up when the nurse says, "Sorry for the sting," before she puts the needle in my arm. I reference the discomfort of regular biopsies, bone marrow biopsies and port removals as discomfort I did not enjoy.

As you can see from the above chart (it is mine and everything), I am halfway completed with the immunizations. Some of you may recall that when you received your polio shot way back when (around the same time period I received mine as a child), the polio vaccine left a scar on you. It doesn't happen anymore. In fact, all of the shots I received yesterday were given in my left arm. As I type this, I can feel where they were given, but no side effects or discomfort.

Also, you may see an influenza vaccine was also given. That is not to replace the annual flu vaccine that is due this year.

5 of the 8 vaccines I will receive in the process will require multiple administrations as you can see from the white boxes.

Here is a "trick of the trade" I have learned. When vaccinations are given, the person giving the vaccine will usually draw the vaccine from the bottle with a larger needle, then remove the needle from the syringe and replace it with another needle that will be used to inject the vaccination. When I received my swine flu vaccine in 2009, the person giving the vaccine used the same needle to withdraw and administer. As a result, the needle "stung" more than usual. When I asked about it, the person told me that the health department where I received my vaccine only used one needle in order to save costs. However, the main benefit to the patient for the "needle switch" is that the needle will not hurt as much because it has not been "dulled" by piercing the membrane in the vaccine bottle. Kind of the same concept as why a dull knife hurts more than a sharp knife when it cuts you.

My biggest complaint, however, is that since I am receiving my childhood vaccinations again, you would think that afterwards I would get some sort of treat for being a good patient.

So begins my campaign against Chronological Bias.