Needle Phobia affects one in every 10 people, finds study; causes and how to manage it

Since the commencement of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in many countries across the world, some people have been hesitant to take the shot. One of the reasons is ‘needle phobia’ or trypanophobia, which is an extreme fear of needles and is a recognised psychiatric condition, said Dr Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy. There are physical symptoms that people with needle phobia experience. Deborah said that such people experience lower blood pressure (vasovagal reaction) which may cause them to feel light-headed and even faint when they are thinking of needles. Some other symptoms of the medical condition could be experiencing palpitations before or when they are exposed to a needle. It is also possible to experience insomnia days before going to take the jab. Quoting Dr Deborah, Yahoo UK writes that the causes of needle phobia could range from a traumatic event in childhood or due to witnessing a loved one going through a long treatment. The condition of needle phobia has been a public health issue for a long time now. In a meta-analysis conducted across several countries in 2019, as many as 16 percent of adults avoid flu shots as they are afraid of needles. Associate professor of clinical psychology Meghan McMurtry said that according to the studies conducted in different countries, it has been found that one in every 10 people are so fearful that they refuse vaccination entirely. According to Meghan, who works at Canada’s University of Guelph, there are some of the efforts that can be taken by the administrations to decrease vaccine hesitancy. One of the measures that administrations can take is that they should ask the ways in which they can help vaccine beneficiaries who suffer from needle phobia. As per TIME, some people would like to gradually expose themselves to the trigger and then receive the jab. Others might like to look away while receiving the dose. They might also get involved in an activity like listening to music that could distract them while receiving the coronavirus vaccine shot.