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People have many marks and little scars on their bodies. One of these scars, however, repeats itself on people’s bodies. If you look at your left shoulder, you’ll most likely find a small scar of regular shape there that didn’t come from an accident but was rather created intentionally. Do you know what caused this scar?
Scar on the arm
If you’re curious whether you also have this scar on your body, look at your left arm. You will usually find this scar on the upper part, more on the shoulder. If you’re not sure about the scar, use a mirror. Did you find the scar? And do you know what it means?
Doctor
This scar was caused by a doctor and that was already in early childhood. If the scar frightens you, you can be at ease. It’s not a mark applied to people, but a very useful step for your life. The scar is the result of an important vaccination. If you have this little scar on your shoulder, it means that you are protected against the dangerous variola virus. Specifically, it is the virus that causes smallpox.
Scar
Are you wondering why an unsightly scar remained on the arm after this vaccination? The scar is the result of the vaccination method, because a double needle is used during the vaccination. The substance was injected under the skin with this needle and a blister-like lesion appeared at this spot within a few days. It was a reaction to the substance in the vaccine. After a few weeks the wound began to heal and a scar remained on the arm where the blister had been, which you now see.
What happened to the wound?
You probably don’t remember the course of this vaccine anymore, so we’ll remind you what happens to the arm after the vaccine.
After the vaccine, a swelling appeared on the arm, which began to subside after approximately 8 hours, but then a new swelling appeared on the arm. This second swelling was a reaction to the puncture itself and at first the swelling resembled a pimple. Such a pimple appeared on the arm for several weeks.
After several weeks the pimple turned into a blister, which in most cases burst and pus drained from the wound. As soon as the wound had discharged all the pus, the wound began to heal and a small scar remained at the site of the puncture.
Today’s generation
Earlier generations were vaccinated and only some individuals did not receive this vaccination because they already had antibodies in their bodies. There were relatively few such individuals.
Smallpox has largely been eradicated today, and therefore no vaccination against it is needed anymore. That is why the current generation does not have these vaccination marks. The only exception may be people who belong to the group of travelers.
