Vasovagal Attack!

Sounds pretty serious, right? I had a Vasovagal attack this morning, as a result of my Immunizations (ie - SHOTS!).

I had to have 3 shots this morning - Tetanus, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. Why the shots? Well, I am scheduled to travel to China this summer to perform some training at a new plant our company is starting up in the JiangXi Provence. I am actually excited to go, as I have never been there, and well, since I am Chinese, some of my "roots" are there.

I was fine after the first two shots. The third shot was in another arm, and I thought I was OK, until I started seeing stars and everything went numb. I had to recline for about 5-10 minutes before I felt even remotely OK.

The health care professional (don't know if she is a doctor or nurse - I was at the local county health department) diagnosed what happened to me - the Vasovagal attack. So I look it up on the Web and it turns out that I had a fainting spell:

A simple faint, also called a vasovagal attack or neurally-mediated syncope, is the most common type of fainting. It is most common in children and young adults. A vasovagal attack happens because blood pressure drops, reducing circulation to the brain and causing loss of consciousness. Typically an attack occurs while standing and is frequently preceded by a sensation of warmth, nausea, lightheadedness and visual "grayout." If the syncope is prolonged, it can trigger a seizure.
From WebMD.com

OK - That is what happened to me. Here are the causes for the simple fainting spell -

You may suffer from a simple faint due to anxiety, fear, pain, intense emotional stress, hunger or use of alcohol or drugs. Most people who suffer from simple fainting have no underlying heart or neurological (nerve or brain) problem

I guess those shots were pretty stressfull. Anxiety. Stress.

I have to go back in a month for a followup Hepatitis shot. I hope I don't have another Vasovagal attack then!