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| How do needlephobics get vaccinated? | How do needlephobics get vaccinated? |
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| WHO, WHAT, WHY? The Magazine answers... A fear of needles can develop into one of hospitals and white coatsA team of researchers is developing a painless method of delivering the flu vaccine, which will help needlephobics. So how do people fearful of needles get vaccinated? | |
| Nobody enjoys injections but they are an important part of staying fit and healthy, especially for children and the elderly. | Nobody enjoys injections but they are an important part of staying fit and healthy, especially for children and the elderly. |
| Yet those scared of needles can find their phobia deters them getting vaccinated and from getting the protection they need. | Yet those scared of needles can find their phobia deters them getting vaccinated and from getting the protection they need. |
| Needlephobia, or belonephobia to give the condition its proper name, affects around 10% of the UK's population to some degree, often triggered by a childhood experience. | Needlephobia, or belonephobia to give the condition its proper name, affects around 10% of the UK's population to some degree, often triggered by a childhood experience. |
| THE ANSWER Coping strategies help them overcome their fearMucosal vaccinations are given through the mouth or noseDiabetics can use an SQ-pen that pierces the skin without a needle For some it means that once-in-a-lifetime exotic holidays or even having children is out of their reach. | THE ANSWER Coping strategies help them overcome their fearMucosal vaccinations are given through the mouth or noseDiabetics can use an SQ-pen that pierces the skin without a needle For some it means that once-in-a-lifetime exotic holidays or even having children is out of their reach. |
| So how do needlephobics get vaccinations? | So how do needlephobics get vaccinations? |
| Many just have to face their fear. And making sure the patient knows what they're being injected with and why is a way of calming them down. | Many just have to face their fear. And making sure the patient knows what they're being injected with and why is a way of calming them down. |
| "We try to persuade the patient of the need to be vaccinated," says Dr Graham Archard, a GP from Christchurch in Dorset. | "We try to persuade the patient of the need to be vaccinated," says Dr Graham Archard, a GP from Christchurch in Dorset. |
| "It may sound unkind, but you have to be fairly unsympathetic, cooing over them makes it even worse." | "It may sound unkind, but you have to be fairly unsympathetic, cooing over them makes it even worse." |
| Cuddly toy | Cuddly toy |
| Local anaesthetics can help soften the prick of the needle, in the form of cream rubbed on to the skin. | Local anaesthetics can help soften the prick of the needle, in the form of cream rubbed on to the skin. |
| NEEDLE PHOBIA Commonly caused by bad childhood experienceOr a friend telling a story about an experienceThe fear can develop into one of blood, white coats and antiseptic Source: needlephobia.co.uk And a "coping strategy" can involve a child's favourite cuddly teddy or just having a chat. One particular study found that talking about the weather takes the patients mind far enough away from the needle to ease the fear while the needle pierces the skin. | NEEDLE PHOBIA Commonly caused by bad childhood experienceOr a friend telling a story about an experienceThe fear can develop into one of blood, white coats and antiseptic Source: needlephobia.co.uk And a "coping strategy" can involve a child's favourite cuddly teddy or just having a chat. One particular study found that talking about the weather takes the patients mind far enough away from the needle to ease the fear while the needle pierces the skin. |
| If these methods do little to ease the terror of the needle, then help is on its way. | If these methods do little to ease the terror of the needle, then help is on its way. |
| Alternative vaccinations - without a needle - are being researched and slowly becoming available, such as inhalers or mucosal forms administered through the mouth or nose. | Alternative vaccinations - without a needle - are being researched and slowly becoming available, such as inhalers or mucosal forms administered through the mouth or nose. |
| One in the pipeline is administered under the tongue, by so-called sublingual means. It has only been tested as a flu vaccine on mice but appeared to successfully protect the rodents from the virus. | One in the pipeline is administered under the tongue, by so-called sublingual means. It has only been tested as a flu vaccine on mice but appeared to successfully protect the rodents from the virus. |
| If you have type 1 diabetes and you don't have insulin, after a few days this will seriously damage your health and eventually you will die Libby DowlingDiabetes UK class="" href="/1/hi/health/7213761.stm">Vaccine for needlephobics This could completely eliminate the need for an injection and raises the possibility of mass immunisation because it does not require a specialist. | |
| It also avoids the potentially destructive stomach enzymes by passing through thin membranes under the tongue, directly into the bloodstream. | It also avoids the potentially destructive stomach enzymes by passing through thin membranes under the tongue, directly into the bloodstream. |
| In the meantime, there is some comfort to needlephobics that they may grow out of it. | In the meantime, there is some comfort to needlephobics that they may grow out of it. |
| But for people with diabetes, who may need injections up to four times a day, avoiding the problem is not an option - it can simply be fatal. | But for people with diabetes, who may need injections up to four times a day, avoiding the problem is not an option - it can simply be fatal. |
| WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular part of the BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines Libby Dowling, a care advisor with Diabetes UK says: "If you have type 1 diabetes and you don't have insulin, after a few days this will seriously damage your health and eventually you will die. | WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular part of the BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines Libby Dowling, a care advisor with Diabetes UK says: "If you have type 1 diabetes and you don't have insulin, after a few days this will seriously damage your health and eventually you will die. |
| "So if you have a needlephobia on top of that, it's very challenging to get around. | "So if you have a needlephobia on top of that, it's very challenging to get around. |
| "In the short term, you'd have to work with the person with diabetes, to get a compromise to give them insulin." | "In the short term, you'd have to work with the person with diabetes, to get a compromise to give them insulin." |
| Up until last year, there was an alternative for diabetics called exubera, an insulin inhaler used by 600 people until its withdrawal due to poor sales. | Up until last year, there was an alternative for diabetics called exubera, an insulin inhaler used by 600 people until its withdrawal due to poor sales. |
| But there is still the SQ-pen, a small device that fires a high-pressure dose of insulin which penetrates the skin. This removes the need for a needle aspect, but can still be quite painful when used several times a day. | But there is still the SQ-pen, a small device that fires a high-pressure dose of insulin which penetrates the skin. This removes the need for a needle aspect, but can still be quite painful when used several times a day. |
Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |