Comments on: Needle Phobia: A Potentially Deadly Diagnosis

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:44:05 +0000

When I was 5 I had to get a blood test before a surgery. The nurse couldn’t find the vein in one arm, so moved to the other. She then got the needle STUCK in my arm and the needle BURST! I remember it spouting out of the needle like a fountain. Very traumatic. I am needle phobic now – from blood tests to IV’s (the WORST is IVs’) and even flu shots! I will have them done, but my BP shoots up whenever I see a needle.

By: Frannie

Frannie — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 23:30:18 +0000

Has there ever been a study done to determine whether someone has to have a bad experience with something, a needle in thsi case, to have this sort of fear about it, or does it generally just come from nowhere? I mean, I guess someone could have a phobia about needles because they had a bad experience at the doctor, but some phobias are just so bizarre that it would seem weird that they would have ever even encountered this is their everday lives.

By: Savannah

Savannah — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 23:05:31 +0000

Kevin-
I hate to point this out to you but for some people they are so scared of needle sticks that this could actually cause them to have a heart attack and die!

I know that this would be an extreme case but there are people who are so afraid that it would then be dangerous to actually do anything to them that would require this sort of act.

Maybe they just have to be made comfortable in another way before getting a needle stick, maybe something like mitrous oxide would be beneficial for cases like this.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:42:35 +0000

Well, they will get over that phobia pretty fast if it meant the difference between life and death!

By: carmen samms

carmen samms — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:31:08 +0000

Unless you have known the pain of living with a phobia, then you have very little idea just how profoundly it can affect your life.
You may not want to leave your house, or can’t be in a small contained space, or in a case like this, even refuse the most basic medical care due to that fear of needles that you know you have but cannot explain.
There needs to be a greater overall awareness that this is a problem in much of the population and rather than ridiculing these fears as small and inconsequential (because believe me, to those who suffer from phobias, the fear is anything but small) we have to be kinder towards one naother and help them get past their fears rather than creating even more stress and anxiey in their lives.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:19:52 +0000

That’s so freaky! I know that there are those who don’t like being stuck, but I had never given any thought at all that someone could have an actual diagnosable phobia about needles. Think about complicated this must make their lives. That would rule out many forms of restorative dental treatment, no checking blood for potentially harmful diseases, and just so many other things that could be limited due to this fear. I do hope that those who have this sort of phobia have some treatment options and that they are able to think clearly enough to seek this help out.

By: Benny

Benny — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 02:17:41 +0000

Always hated needles as a kid but never thought it could be a full-blown phobia in people.with so much of needle usage in medical procedures this phobia can really come in the way of treatment. therefore it becomes necessary to tackle this issue and the methods mentioned here seem like a good idea.but I would like to see a more to-the-roots method to tackle this problem, by going back into how the fear developed. that will be much better from the patient’s point of view if I’m not wrong.

By: cheryl c

cheryl c — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:39:25 +0000

Isn’t it weird how these phobias will just jump up out of nowhere sometimes when you least expect it?

Is it like they just kind of start small and then become these full fledged fears?

i guess I am lucky I have never had anything like this affect me.

By: Doc LC

Doc LC — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:35:36 +0000

In my practice this kind of phobia is something that we encounter all the time. We have to put a lot of our patients to sleep for surgery when it cannot be performed under local anesthetic and there are some patients who almost can’t tolerate the thought of a needle getting anywhere near them. Some want us to bottle the anesthesia and sell to them but for others this poses such a fright to them that it can make doing surgery on them nearly impossible.