By Marilynn Marchione - T
he Associated Press
Is it advisable to take pain relievers before or after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?
Best avoided, unless you are taking them routinely for a medical condition.
Although the evidence is limited, some pain relievers could interfere with the ultimate goal of the vaccine - to elicit a strong immune system response.
Vaccines work by tricking the body into thinking it has a virus and building a defense against it.
This can lead to
arm pain, fever, headache, muscle aches,
or other temporary symptoms like inflammation that can be part of this reaction.
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"These symptoms mean your immune system is picking up and the vaccine is working," Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at a news conference. recent.
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Certain pain relievers that work against inflammation, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and other brands) can slow down the immune response.
A mouse study published in the
Journal of Virology
found that these drugs could reduce the production of antibodies, those helpful substances that prevent the virus from infecting cells.
If you're already taking one of those drugs for an existing health problem, you shouldn't stop before you get the vaccine, at least not without first checking with your doctor, said Jonathan Watanabe, a pharmacist at the University of California, Irvine.
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People, in his opinion, should not take pain relievers as a preventive measure before receiving a vaccine, unless directed by a doctor, or after receiving the injection: "If you don't need to take them, you shouldn't," Watanabe recommended.
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If you need one, acetaminophen (Tylenol) "is safer because it does not alter the immune response," he added.
The CDC offers other tips, such as
holding a cool, damp cloth over the injection site and exercising your arm
.
For fever, you can drink plenty of fluids and wear light clothing.
Call your doctor if the redness or tenderness in your arm increases within a day of receiving the injection or if the side effects don't go away after a few days, the CDC recommends.