i don't like things involving needles in general but when compared with taking blood i HATE shots. i think i have gotten better though and i just recently had a tetnus one. like mirrya1 said talk to the nurse or whoever and don't look. i don't like to look at any of it- them getting it ready, it going in, etc. i'm pretty small so even when i breathe and stay calm i sometimes get that little rush of dizziness when the vaccine goes in so for that i suggest you are well hydrated and have something grainy in your belly. i usually make a point to eat a piece of bread a few minutes before i leave the house.

Tell the nurse you are nervous so they can distract you with useless chatter, don't look and breath deep. The Tetanus shot doesn't hurt too much, but your arm will ache a bit for the week after so have some advil (or pain killer of your choice) handy.

I don't like shots, hate having my blood drawn or an IV and I'm too tofu-chicken to donate blood but the worst was when my then 2 1/2 year old cut himself (on the safety latch on our kitchen cabinets of all things) just above his eyebrow bad enough to need stitches.  As his twin wandered around the exam room rummaging though all the cupboards... we had to wrap lil P in a bed sheet to hold his arms down, I had to lay on top of him on the gurney and hold his shoulders down with my elbows and his head down with both hands.  The dr had to give him a local freezing shot and three stitches with my face less then 12 inches away.  Did I mention lil P was SCREAMING bloody murder the whole time.  We walked out into the waiting room after it was done and EVERYONE was looking at us like... "what the &*$ did you do to that child!?!"  :'(

K^2

As has been said, the aftermath of the tetanus shot is much worse than the actual shot itself.

Your muscle will be sore (well, mine wasn't but everyone else I've talked to said theirs was) like you worked out a lot.  Or got punched in the arm.  Either way, don't fret the shot and do whatever anyone suggests to try to lessen the muscle soreness afterward! 

Have fun at camp!!!

Tetnus shots borderline on propaganda to me.  I've researched the disease a lot and it is VERY easy to cure. The disease breaks down in oxygen, so they just flay open the infected area and you lay around for a couple days as mother nature cures you.

The only danger is not knowing you have the disease, and then not treating it, and then getting hella sick.  It comes from contact with a disease carrying agent, and you can only contract the disease if it penetrates your skin and it stays there safe from oxygen.  (Like a puncture wound (yeah, remember mom telling you not to step on a rusty nail?))  So if you get scratched, it doesn't really matter. 

So I have refused the shots, and if/when I ever get a puncture wound i will watch for signs of tetnus.  The only reason why i refused the shots is because NO ONE would tell me what was in them!  My doctor could provide me with no answers, and i couldn't find anything online.  That is more fishy to me than "risking" death by tetnus.

I thought that tetanus shots had an equine component?!?!?

I had one in 1995 and it hurt like the devil.  My arm swelled, I had a knot there, I felt sick, ran a fever, awful.  I had another one 2004 and had nothing of the kind.  The area of the injection was warm for a couple of days. 

Distract yourself from the needle and it'll be better.  I don't tense when I have a shot and I tend to hold my breath just when the put the needle in.  I am too busy to care about the prick.

  :D wow... what are medical professionals doing to you guys? i've not had a tetanus vaccination that was ever remotely memorably painful. BCG (tuberculosis)... yeah, that hurt like billy-oh and was really gruesome for  months afterwards... but tetanus, or any of the other ones...erm... not really special- maybe i'm just lucky though.

i think alot of it is build up. i always think it's going to hurt, get all nervous, and then all my senses are heightened and i'm jittery and wired and its more likely to feel more intense than it actually is. once i'm there, its done in a matter of seconds, and i'm out the door and thinking about something else before you can say 'eeeek, giant needle!!!'.

if you don't like the pain from the needle, you should be able to get your doctor/nurse to utilise a painkilling gel prior to giving the shot- they might even prescribe one that you can rub into your arm yourself, 15 minutes or so before you get there. that way you won't feel it at all. if you give it a quick rub and move it about a bit afterwards, and carry on like normal, it shouldn't ache any more than a punched arm (if even that much) for more than the next few days. try and focus on how much excellent fun you'll get in exchange for one second of 'ouch'.... its a pretty good deal if you ask me, and definately much nicer than getting lockjaw would be. then treat yourself with something nice, as a reward for being brave, when you're all done.

my mum told me once, that when she was a child (all be it 50 years ago!), their local nurse would pinch the children hard on the arm about 3 seconds before she gave them an injection- so that they were so busy being shocked and confused that a nurse had just pinched them, and going 'ouch' from that, that they didn't even notice the needle. so it could be worse, hopefully at least you won't get pinched too! although if you happen to have an annoying brother, maybe you could get him to go in with you, and kick you in the shins or something, on cue, as an aversion? yeah.. maybe not such a good plan.