Here’s how to overcome your fear of needles
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About the Author
Krystal is a certified emergency nurse at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago, Ill. In February 2018, Krystal was named a recipient of the 2018 Advocate Nurse Award, the health system's top nursing award.
This doesn’t work for me. If a nurse can’t find a vein the first time and my vein blows up. It hurts like hell!
The writer of this article clearly has not ever faced a true phobia of needles. I have tried all of these tricks. I rationally know that an injection or blood draw is no big deal. A phobia, however, is an irrational fear. When I’m stuck, it changes my entire body and brain. I go from calm to abject panic complete with trembling and tears, even though I KNOW it is unwarranted. I usually experience a vaso vagal response and lose consciousness. i often end up in the emergency department because my b.p. drops so low that someone initiates a rapid response. It is completely humiliating and leaves me feeling physically unwell and mentally slow for hours after the injection. The ER visit is also an unnecessary expense that can be avoided by listening to me beforehand. This is a real phobia not overcome by placation and simple visualization.
It upsets me when providers give advice like this. Do you really think an adult wants to be seen in that panic state? I assure you that I do not. Oversimplifying the problem and methods to overcome it is condescending and makes me even more afraid to deal with medical professionals because it is SO embarrassing. When a patient tells you they have a real problem with needles, please know that they ARE facing their fears and are trying to both warn you of impending consequences and solicit your help in dealing with them. Please take us seriously and treat us with compassion and trust rather than disdain and disbelief.
I I agree very strongly these methods do not work at all! Our fear of needles is real and when we have the courage to tell our doctor and or nurse they should respect us and try to help us with our fear.
I I agree very strongly these methods do not work at all! Our fear of needles is real and when we have the courage to tell our doctor and or nurse they should respect us and try to help us with our fear.
I agree too that these methods don’t work. I had a friend who has a needle phobia. I told him too to look away, but he said that he just needs to look when the needle is stuck in. The needle phobia is a phobia, and unlike normal people, phobia for needles are hard to overcome like any other phobia.