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Fear of needles

S

Sergiu

Former Member
I'm not afraid to go to the dentist for consultation and treatment.The only thing i fear when i go to the dentist is for needles.Every time i see needles i am terrified.
I have this fear for years and i have not found a way to eliminate this fear.
 
Hi Sergiu. :welcome:

It sounds like you have a needle phobia. This page has lots of information about it, as well as some ideas for trying to cope with or even overcome it:


I hope you might find something there that can help you.

I don't personally have the same fear, but there are other members who do, and hopefully one of them will also reply to you.
 
I don't like needles but I had some work done last week and had to have 2 injections. The dentists have a gel called topical now, and when they rub that on your gums before injecting you don't feel it. Also if they inject slowly, my dentist counts very slowly up to 10 when injecting, that also means you don't feel it either. The slower they inject the stuff means you don't feel it.
 
I have to inform my dentist, before I go for any kind of work that calls for injections, that I'm terrified of needles and cannot see one. They always have a nice hygienist that sits with me (hopefully my new one will, too) who talks to me while I lay with my eyes closed. Ask your dentist to hold the topical on the injection site for two full minutes. That numbs it so you don't even feel the needle going in! I have to inform my dentist of this beforehand as well, because some hygienists go for the minimum topical application time and that freaks me out!

So, in short, ask for a nice hygienist who's willing to go the extra mile. Most of the younger ones will, I find! And even some of the ones who've been doing that type of work for years.

Keep your eyes closed and let the hygienist do all the talking while the topical is being applied. Let her hold it in the right spot for about two minutes and try not to talk to her so it doesn't move out of that spot.

Tell the dentist to go slow, that you don't want to see or feel anything if he can help it. I find that when they use the topical for two minutes I don't even feel the needle going in! But I can't look at the needles, either.

Also, I find it's easier if you don't know how many shots they're going to do. I don't want to hear "One down, one to go" or things like that because it gives me a sense of trepidation. I think things like "Will this next one hurt? Or the one after?" Tell your dentist that you don't want to know how many shots need to be done before they can get to work.

One more thing my old dentist told me was that, by talking when the Novocaine is getting to work numbing you reduces the amount of time it's active. The more you talk, the more likely you'll need another injection, is what I was told. I don't know for sure if that's true, but I thought I'd throw it out there and if anyone knows for a fact that the opposite or otherwise is true, then feel free to jump in!

That's my two cents on my phobia and my way of dealing with it! (Besides crying a little). Hope it helps!
 
I have to inform my dentist, before I go for any kind of work that calls for injections, that I'm terrified of needles and cannot see one. ...
Keep your eyes closed...

This is key for me. The second that swab (with the topical) comes out, I close my eyes. And don't open them until all the injections are finished and they leave me alone while things numb up. I don't want to catch even a glimpse of that syringe.

And yes, you bet that I mention every time about how that's the most traumatic part of the whole thing for me.

My dentist may take just as much care with every other patient he sees, but I never think it hurts to remind him of that.
 
One more thing my old dentist told me was that, by talking when the Novocaine is getting to work numbing you reduces the amount of time it's active. The more you talk, the more likely you'll need another injection, is what I was told. I don't know for sure if that's true, but I thought I'd throw it out there and if anyone knows for a fact that the opposite or otherwise is true, then feel free to jump in!

I find that one very hard to believe and it doesn't accord with my own personal experience. The most important thing to do to make the local anaesthetic work (assuming the dentist has got it in the right place - a big assumption - see 'can't get numb') is to RELAX and think beautiful thoughts. A two-way conversation between you and the dentist about a non-dental subject while that is happening can work well or alternatively you might prefer to just lie back and close your eyes.

Are you a really chatty person at the dentist - just wondering if your dentist said that to get you to chat less;)?
 
Are you a really chatty person at the dentist - just wondering if your dentist said that to get you to chat less;)?

Actually, when it comes to dentists, I'm not a chatty person. I usually just sit there and try not to cry or look at their instruments.
 
Actually, when it comes to dentists, I'm not a chatty person. I usually just sit there and try not to cry or look at their instruments.

Some people talk more when they are nervous but maybe not in the dental environment so much;). I have honestly never heard that before. Maybe one of the dentists can shed some light on the thinking behind it. I know some dentists like to massage the local in.

Usually if the local works properly, you are numb for a couple of hours afterwards so it's hard to see how talking would make any difference.
 
I am pretty much terrified of needles. I puke, I turn ghost white and drip with sweat, hold my breath, basically everything that makes it worse than it has to be. I actually was doing okay for a bit. There is a nurse at my doctor's office who is diabetic, and there was someone really good at the place I used to work at. I had to get a tb test at that job, and she did it without really hurting me, so when it came time for flu shots, I waited in line extra and specifically requested her. The nurse at the doctor's office who is diabetic I suppose is very good because she has so much experience giving herself needles. At least that's what she told me. Anyway, I was doing pretty well, and basically not getting beyond slight elevations of heart rate. Something happened, I'm not sure what, and I am back to full blown panic.
So far, I have done okay with the dentist I am currently seeing. When I was a kid, I puked a few times, and I think people seemed kind of mad about it. So, I just tell the doctors I might puke, and I have them give me the trash can. If I know that if I do, and I can do it without making a mess and having someone get mad at me, I don't get so worried about it. If I'm not panicking about it happening, it's probably less likely to happen. I also tell them that I am terrified, and I let them know of all the fear behaviors that I may have. Basically, I tell them that I will cry for sure, and I list the rest in terms of likelihood.
So, at the dentist, to keep from getting to the extremes, I close my eyes, and I put on music. I have tried recently to have something to do with my hands. Otherwise, I clamp my hands down on the arm rests, and I'm my whole body is completely tense. I've been playing with a nut and bolt. In terms of music, I don't like relaxation music, so I've been going with something that I find funny. I tend to hold my breath, making the whole thing worse, so someone usually talks to me and tries to remind me to breathe.
One of the things that I think was making it worse, was that the anesthesia they were using at first wasn't really working for me. Knowing that what I will get is going to work, and that it won't have to be done a ton of times, I'm a little less upset about the whole thing. At the local hospital, for starting IVs, they have my file marked to try only one time before calling the IV team. If I anticipate it will be a lot, or if I have to deal with needles for what I believe to be no good reason, I freak out worse. Allergy testing, although it's a scratch not even an injection, I didn't handle well, and my file got marked at the hospital after someone missed a few attempts at IVs during an MRI. Knowing it's going to work, or that I won't be tortured is a good thing.
 
Needles are my big fear, too. And it doesn't matter whether the injection is painless or not, I always have the same reaction. Like griffinej5, I throw up. My blood pressure plunges, I break out in a cold sweat, and I feel like I'm going to pass out. Evidently there are things you can do to combat this tendency, like making sure you're lying down with your legs elevated when you receive an injection, and I've read that tensing your muscles can help, too. Don't know, though, I haven't tried any of it yet. My physical reaction to injections has led to a big phobia, so avoidance has been my way of dealing with it. Unfortunately, avoidance is not your friend.

My teeth are in awful shape now because I stopped going to the dentist when he told me I had a cavity and went to get the needle for the local. This was at a cleaning, and the cavity was small. But I made some excuse and hightailed it out of there, never to go back until I got an abscess. And now I need a lot more work. Which means even more needles. :cry:

Anyway, it sounds like there are a lot of people here with good advice and comforting words. I don't have any to give you yet, but maybe after I get some work done I'll be able to also say that it's painless and not as bad as the fear makes it seem. Until then, at least I can reassure you that you're not alone in your fear because I feel the same way. The dentist can clean my teeth, I've had smaller cavities filled without novacaine (when I was a kid and couldn't avoid the dentist entirely), but the minute they break out a needle I'm done.

A friend of mine took Ativan to deal with her fear, and she said it made her feel fearless. Maybe that's an option for you.
 
I hope you find a way to be able to receive painless dentistry and get the work you need done. I wasn't being flippant in saying that needles don't hurt, I know it doesn't matter a fear is a fear and whether it hurts or not is not the point. A spider walking across the room doesn't hurt but it can have people running and screaming from the room.

I am in no way belittling your fear. I do not like them either but I don't have the fear you have of them, I know that when ever I have the injections in my gums I am always told to relax not tense up. So I would talk with your dentist and explain how terrified you are and ask them the best thing to do.

I always keep my eyes closed because if I saw one, I would run.

I wish you well :innocent:
 
Carole, I personally find your posts very comforting! Especially since for a lot of people the big fear about needles IS the pain. (My childhood dentist used to give very painful shots! Even without my physical reaction to needles, I think I'd still be scared of them, thanks to him. :mad:)

Evidently the kind of vasovagal response I have to needles has something to do with the vagus nerve and dropping blood pressure, so tensing the muscles is supposed to help with the whole blood pressure thing in some way. Of course, if you tense up WHILE you're getting an injection, it will just make it hurt! I suppose you're supposed to tense just after, or something. So I guess if you start to feel faint, that's when you tense up. Like I said, I've been too much of a coward to face the needle yet :scared:, so I can't tell you for sure how (or if) it works!

I will say that I have much more faith that I can face it after reading your post (and everyone else's here, too). Lots of encouragement and good advice.

And Sergiu, I wish you well, too. The fear might never go away entirely (I can't imagine not being afraid of a needle at least a little) but it sounds like there are lots of resources out there now to help make it less scary and easier to face.
 
When I had my allergy testing, they couldn't put my feet up because they were doing it on my back, but as soon as I was done, they put the little step stool they have for kids or shorter people to get on the table up there, and had me put my feet up there.
They tried anxiety meds for me once for needles, and that was the time I completely flipped out after they missed a few IVs, and my file got marked that I get one try and they call the IV team. They also now immediately wrap my arms in warm blankets when I come in to make it easier to start an IV.
 
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