• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Decorated Syringes

letsconnect

letsconnect

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 1, 2005
Messages
6,084
"Researchers at the University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center believe they have found a way to make patients less fearful of needles - decorate them with butterflies, flowers and smiley faces.

Fear of needles, or needle phobia, can impact the care a patient receives, the researchers said. Some children become hysterical at the sight of needles, while some adults will avoid the doctor's office altogether.

The researchers said the decorated needles can increase the quality of care when patients are less stressed.

Such decorations likely interfere with an established link between visual recognition of a perceived threat and the subsequent emotional response to that threat, the study suggested.

Needles, syringes and IV bags decorated with musical notes, flowers and smiley faces were highly favored by patients, the researchers said.

The researchers recruited 60 patients from outpatient clinics at the Health Sciences Center. Subjects randomly were exposed to eight designs of winged needles - such as one decorated as a butterfly - and six designs of syringes fitted with a needle.

When exposed to conventional syringes, 80 percent of the subjects experienced moderate to severe aversion, 63 percent suffered moderate to severe fear and 62 percent showed moderate to severe anxiety.

When exposed to the decorated syringes, the aversion in patients was reduced by 68 percent, fear by 53 percent and anxiety by 53 percent, the study found.

Wilmer Sibbitt, a professor in UNM's School of Medicine, said the decorated medical devices likely form a neurophysiological intervention, resulting in stimulation of brain areas usually not associated with fear, anxiety and aversion.

"It would be great to see these types of decorated needles, syringes, and IV bags mass produced," he said."
 
Sounds like a good idea. :thumbsup:

For children and people who are really afraid of needles it may help them. :)

Personally for me it wouldn't make any difference, coz from the minute i get in the chair - til the minute i get out. My eyes are closed :redface: (lol). So I wouldn't see it.
 
I agree, I'd rather have them hidden altogether,lol. Or completely camaflouged so you've no clue what's coming towards you! Ahhh!
 
Good idea - I can look at a syringe and not feel threatebed by it but it would be even less threatening if it had pretty pictures on it. Why don't they bother me? Because experience has taught me the discomfort is slight to non-existent.

I had always assumed an injection in the mouth would be far worse than in your arm say, but actually it can be more comfortable.... ;D

I still prefer not to see it just beforehand however...and have always found dentists are good at keeping them out of your line of sight until afterwards and then I don't mind seeing it!
 
It is really lovely idea:) But I'm afraid it makes no difference... afterall it is still an injection with a NEEDLE! :scared:
 
Yes but the most important thing is who is wielding it! For instance, I'd much rather have a blood sample taken by the lady who's worked in the pathology lab for years than by a recently qualified nurse, because the lady in the path lab is so good at it, you feel absolutely nothing even if you've got hard to find arteries/veins like me.
 
Brit said:
Yes but the most important thing is who is wielding it! For instance, I'd much rather have a blood sample taken by the lady who's worked in the pathology lab for years than by a recently qualified nurse, because the lady in the path lab is so good at it, you feel absolutely nothing even if you've got hard to find arteries/veins like me.

I can see where your coming from. I once had a stay in hospital (very accident prone :redface:) I had to be given IV antibiotics and pain meds. I had a student Nurse, (I have great respect for them, I know everyone learns through experience etc so I'm not being disrespectful.) Anyway, He was trying to start my IV, Tried the back of my left hand, (I normally have good veins, can donate blood regularly without any probs or give samples for blood tests)the veins collapsed, he apologised and tried the right hand, same thing happened. :cry: He apologised and decidied to try further up my arm, no luck, swapped to my left and finally managed to get it in the inside of my elbow. It didn't hurt, but I was feeling a little bit like a pin cushion by the time he'd finished.

He was very apologetic and i'm sure he is now a wonderful qualified nurse, who's started a million IV's, but I think in situationas like this a little bit of experience can go a long way.
 
Back
Top