What Causes Stiff Neck After Taking Prevnar 13 And Fluzone?

Posted on Sun, 25 Oct 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 25 Oct 2015 Answered on

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi and thank you. I am 67 and had two vaccinations yesterday, one the Prevnar 13 and the other the Fluzone high-dose, each given in a separate arm. I had no problems with the shots themselves. Within one hour I was taking a shower and noticed kind of a "crick" in my neck, so I ran some hot water over it, thinking that would make it go away. As the evening went on, my neck felt more like a stiff neck, and by late evening it felt bad enough that I took an Aleve, put heat on it and rubbed icy hot on it before going to bed. I slept for a few hours and then had to get up to go to the bathroom, at which point I had severe pain in my neck and was uncomfortable in ANY position and stayed away for a few more hours until time to get up. My question: Could this possibly be a side-effect of either or both of these medications?

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
if could be

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

fluzone may cause of variety of problems albeit very rarely. Neuritis and meningitis are a couple of those. "Stiff neck" has to be evaluated by a doctor. If your neck is indeed stiff then testing the cerebrospinal fluid might be necessary.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (3 minutes later)

What do you mean in you "Brief Answer" of "if could be"? I do not understand what that means. I will contact my doctor tomorrow, as today is Sunday. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it's the answer to your concluding question...

Detailed Answer:
I've just answered the question in your text... ("Could this possibly be a side-effect of either or both of these medications?"). As I explained before, fluzone high dose has caused in patients (rarely though) the aforementioned untoward effects. A stiff neck can be the sign of a serious event, so you'd better visit your doctor as soon as possible.

I've just noticed that I wrote "If" could be... It's a typo obviously. I meant "It could be". Sorry about that!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar