Needles Somehow Causing Fear Of Needles, Studies Say
 

Well, okay - the Globe And Mail article I read today isn't saying the thread title word-for-word, what they're saying is that because there are so many injections and inoculations for young children these days, they begin to get phobias of needles, and in that same vein begin to snub medical and dentistry check-ups for fear of getting a shot.

Now, I'm sure we can all think back to a particularly grim memory of a shot we hated, (Elementary school measles shot) but I give blood - even after black bruising from an over-enthusiastic nurse or two. The trouble I'm sensing here is over-protectiveness.

Who disagrees with me?

I think adults are more afraid of medical bills than needles, to be perfectly honest.

It's free in Canada Funka, no medical bills for us so that's not a good excuse!

While I do agree I've never liked the pain, I can't recall ever having that bad a reaction to needles as some of the more extreme types here (seriously, fainting? Having a breakdown just by being in the same room as one?). Heck, I'm giving blood tomorrow and my only real concerns are passing the tests beforehand and dealing with the aftereffects.

And somehow I'd expect having more innoculations would make kids less likely to be afraid of needles as it becomes more of an everyday occurence, although I suppose the frequency for that to happen might only occur with things like insulin shots.

Probably the big issue is that we always hear about how scared someone around us is afraid of needles and we pick up on that. For reference, a herpetologist's kid is probably less likely to be afraid of reptiles because to them, it's a perfectly normal aspect of their family life. Same thing could probably happen with needles; set an example by approaching the subject calmly and rationally and your kids will do the same.

I'm completely fine with needles. Nearly all of my doctor's numb me before giving me a shot.

However I don't remember getting any shots as a kid. But on the other hand I don't Remember anything from when I was 4 and younger.

I obviously dread the feeling of the needle being shoved into my flesh; anything like that is unpleasent. I've never been afraid of them, though.

My girlfriend is one of the "Having a breakdown just by being in the same room as one" people though. She loved getting stitches in her hand, let me tell you. I thought my arm was going to fall off...

Needles have never bothered me. The time I was chewing the doc out was the last time I got stitches(4th or 5th having them time mind you). The doc numbed me up by shoving a 10 gauge needle into the open wound, and prodding around like a child having a seizure at the circus. Good times, good times.

though I'm still not too keen on giving blood
 

You know, I used to HATE needles until I was about 16. After that point, they didn't bother me anymore. The real reason wasn't so much that needles particularly hurt as much as the fact that my mom, who is a nurse, mind you, always made a big production out of it. She probably didn't even realize she was doing it, but after one time of her stepping out of the room, she never joined me for a shot or blood draw again.

Seriously, when parents think they're being comforting with the entire "hold-my-hand, look-at-mommy, it'll-all-be-okay" type stuff, they're only making a big deal out of a little thing and scaring their kids by making it seem much worse than it really is. There was one video I remember from America's Funniest Home Videos where a girl no older than ten had to get a shot, and she cried and bawled so much that she didn't even realize when they stuck her, and then after she realized they were done, she started laughing her ass off because she realized it hadn't been bad at all.

I can be considered a example of this. It's mainly due to my cheap ass father going for the Free shots that the Red cross was giving out by the mall. They ran out of small needles by the time my Kinder garden ass got up there and had to use the bigger ones. So then I got the Old granny that lost her glasses and never had kids in her life. She takes the needle and misses(!) the vane 3 god damn times then she accidentally over dosed me causing a little panic in both me and my easily panicked mom. The doctor came around and said that overdosing on a vaccine isn't to dangerous And that my LOCKED UP ARM will loosen up again after i had a Tylenol at home (it did but the traffic was so bad that it took about 2 hours to get home)
because of this experience at a young age i have been afraid of needles ever since and would burst into tears at the sight of them