How to face A Fear Of Needles
3 ways to manage a fear of needles
0:00 / 0:00
Quality:
Sharing buttons:
Ready one, two three!
Many can relate
to this. Needles can induce worry, discomfort and in
some, an overwhelming fear. As a registered nurse in Sunnybrook's
Family Practice Unit, Andrea Goncz has pretty much seen every
reaction there is. Usually teenagers
and older children usually have the hardest time.
Goncz administers more than one thousand needles every
year, so knows of some tried and true techniques to help.
Tip one? Focus on something else. People of all ages
need a little distraction from something that is not enjoyable.
For younger children, bring along favorite books. And for older kids, parents can help.
Distraction is one of the best techniques, so if mom or dad is standing
in front chatting with them while you go ahead and quickly do what you need to do
Her next tip? Sugar. The body's natural
response when tasting sugar is endorphin release, so it makes sense that
that would actually diminish the sensation of pain that would
be received by an immunization. Research has found that dipping soothers
into sugar water helps cut down on pain for infants.
Goncz also recommends that mothers breastfeed immediately following immunization.
For older children, bring a favorite candy. Ya,
that's OK to give your kids treats
at those times and it will help with their pain management. Tip three?
Emla patches. Available at most pharmacies, these
topical pain patches numb the site of injection if applied about one hour
before the shot. I find it actually really good for
kids who are a little bit older who understand what the needle
is and are still very, very scared of it. After immunization,
Goncz says both acetaminophen or iboprofen are good
options to relieve pain, but there is no need to give it beforehand.
The best thing to do is to keep moving the arm, keep moving the limb that did have
the injection because it will help dispurse the vaccine.
One, two three. With Sunnyview, I'm Monica Matys.
