IKIANBU, but how to get needle refusing DD to have her Jab?

[Plonque]

My DD is in Yr 8 of secondary school.

She has mentioned a few times about the HPV jab coming up at school and how she wasn't going to get it because she thinks it will hurt.
I've not entertained this at all and have said it's a tiny sting for a moment and it could save your life - you're going to have it.

Anyway, the permission letter has come today and needs to be returned immediately.
DD has point blank said she is not having it and I don't know what to do.
I don't want to set off any life long needle phobias or such, so I'm just trying to see the most successful way forward.
I don't really have any phobias so I've no idea how to handle it.

She had all of her baby jabs but has not needed any sort of injection since so this is new to her, I get that she doesn't know what to expect so refusing seems the best option.
I had said to her if she kicks up a fuss at school I will take her for it at the doctors (I actually don't know if this is possible?!)

Can you suggest any strategies?

If she doesn’t want it done they won’t do it, either at school or the go surgery.

Just sign it, and let the school nurses do the job of persuading her. It's really important she has it.

If she refuses to have it then there is nothing much that can be done. It actually used to say on the letter (not sure that it still does) that the final decision is down to the girl.

I think all you can do is talk her through why you feel it is important and then let her decide. No medical professional will do an injection when a young person is adamant they don’t want it.

Fill in the form and return it but with a note onto say she is hesitant about it.

That being said, if it's just the fact she is scared then it might be worth either you or the nurse trying to work around it. Perhaps the nurse could distract her?

Bribery.
or
Get her to research the downsides of cervical cancer & the treatment that would require, and write a considered essay on the pros and cons of having the jab or not.

Teen girls can hype themselves up about jabs. If she is adamant at the moment then wait, but next year make appt at the doctors for the nurse to talk to her.

I pointed out to a nervous DD that it was intended to prevent her from getting cervical cancer and that the short term discomfort from a vaccination was well worth it.

(I did say that I agreed with her that vaccinations aren't much fun but that it was always worth focusing on the long term gains rather than the short term pain)

Ella cream and bribery?

Can you share the Jade Goody story with her? She’s probably quite relatable as she was young, reality TV etc

Don't know about GP's doing it, suspect there is a reason its done in school as its easier and cheaper to organise.

Privately you can get it done at Boots, Superdrug, i assume other pharmacists do it... I'd tell her getting it done privately will cost £165 PER JAB and she needs two 5 months apart... she can cough up for it if she wont take the free ones at school..

Speak to your GP, it may be easier to go in with her and have it done there IF they do it.

Theres a strong chance if you just sign the letter her mates at school will all wind one another up into a giddy hysterical mess and she will run off/refuse (you know whether thats likely, if her friends are sensible it could go the other way, all the kids at my school took the piss out of kidswho were scared of their jabs at school and as a result very few refused for fear of looking silly!)

I feel for her but my 7 year old has to have at least 4 injections every day so a one of injection really is nothing. Leave it to the school to sort out if she adamantly refuses.

Emla cream that should be

@TeenPlusTwenties

Bribery. or Get her to research the downsides of cervical cancer & the treatment that would require, and write a considered essay on the pros and cons of having the jab or not.

Teen girls can hype themselves up about jabs. If she is adamant at the moment then wait, but next year make appt at the doctors for the nurse to talk to her.

As long as you make her aware that it doesn't prevent all cervical cancer and it would be wise to still get smears when she is called in for them.

I actually think one of the reasons smear test uptake is going down is because women have had the jab and think they are 'protected'.

Emla cream would be a good option. You can’t force her but you can address her fears.

Tell her if she counts to 3 it will be done by the time she has finished counting. It’s literally a split second.

Out of interest does she have or want any piercings? I remember trying to convince a teenage girl to have her HOV jab who had her nose pierced and 4/5 in each ear!

Watching as I have a similar thread running about a similar daughter!

If she does agree, see if her school will let her go early.
DD's school allowed particularly anxious or nervous pupils to go first thing rather than with their tutor groups. It got it done early, and they could go a bit more calmly with them rather than production line.

My autistic ds was hidden under a table when he had to have a jab at school.

His ta managed to persuade him.

I still can't and his flu jab is done as the spray!

Sometimes I think they are more willing for people who aren't their parents!

You know your dd. Is she likely someone who would respond to being shown what she'd have to go through if she got cervical cancer V 2 second jab?
This does only work for people who it won't make anxiety worse for.

This was me as a teenager when they were giving the TB jabs in school. I begged my parents to tick the 'no' box on the form. They wouldn't. I worried massively about it as I had and still have a needle phobia. in the end I just refused it on the day. There wasn't anything they could do to change my mind.

I know it's important and I would strongly encourage my children to have the HPV jab (my daughter has recently had the second dose with no problems) but at this age it is up to them.

Nobody will give the vaccine if she does not consent so leaving it up to school/nurses to try and get her to have it done likely won't work. Just make sure that she has all the facts and understands that it is to prevent her from getting cervical cancer - which would result in her needing a hell of alot more than 1 small needle. Ultimatley though the decision is up to her and nobody can force her to have it done. However my mother refused to sign the consent form for me and the I was too old by the time I was making my own doctors appointments sadly so I would try to encourage her to get it done.

I wonder how many injections a woman has when she returns a smear that requires further investigation? So not worst case scenario but the more common reasons for needing a biopsy etc.

Under local anaesthetic and sedation, they would put a canular in, so that's worse than an injection.

Any surgery that results in her being less mobile for a few days would probably get daily warfarin injections, I've had this 3 times after surgeries for gyne issues. A full week of daily injections each time.

Perhaps that would put it in to context. She needs to take a mature approach to this and understand the bigger picture.

Absolutely try to get her the Elma cream as well, but that has to go on 1 hour before the injection. All her friends would see her with it. Could that make her feel even worse? Would she get teased?

Good luck OP

My DS was worried it would hurt too so I bought him some spray that numbs the skin and it seemed to reassure him enough to have it done.

Maybe talk to school about it - do they have a school nurse? I used to work in secondary schools and the kids can wind each other up terribly on vaccination days, so the school may already have protocols for nervous students. They might also have an advantage in persuading your daughter to have the jab - in my experience kids that age are able to be a bit tougher when they aren't with their parents.

Mine tried this but I told her the nurse could literally sit on her if needed as I'd rather her be pissed off at me than dead.