Is it really a prick?

[Tooobvious]

Why are healthcare workers trained nowadays to say "just a little scratch" when they’re about to give an injection or take blood? It’s not a scratch at all, it’s a prick, which is what they used to call it.

AIBU to think they’re just too scared to say "a little prick" because they think it sounds rude or the start of a coarse joke?

YABU - it’s perfectly OK to call it a scratch even though it isn't one really
YANBU - they’re being over-sensitive and should call it a prick

DP has a fairly severe needlephobia. "You'll feel a small scratch" is far less likely to send her over the edge than a reminder that they're sticking something into her arm.

No, it isn't really appropriate to be saying "you'll just feel a prick" to people in a vulnerable moment.

Often it is a scratch, though, especially when they are taking blood, but sometimes for injections too. I think maybe the technique has changed,

I think it’s because a scratch is more of a surface skin thing, so using that phrase tricks the mind away from the actual horror of having something inserted deep into the flesh. I have overthought this.

I had a tooth out today and the dentist called it a small prick while he was injecting the anaesthetic and I was so nervous I descended into hysterical giggles. So maybe that's why - immature people like me who can't help but laugh at it.

Most people have experienced a scratch so they can relate. It’s the same level of pain and helps patients to feel less scared (mostly). My DD had bloods taken for the first time and she had no reference point to know what a little prick is. But she would have laughed and wriggled like PP.

Last time a Dr told me that i corrected her afterwards to say ‘it was a searing pain’ ! She didnt seem impressed 🤣

They probably got fed up with teenagers sniggering.

“Tis nothing but a scratch!” 🤕🦿

I wouldn't get all knotted up about this instance of possible genteelism/more likely intended reassurance.
It’s not misleading anyone in any measurable way, since they surely understand what is about to happen.
(One might in fact argue that a scratch is a bit more painful than the average prick from a rose, for example. If that’s the case, truth and justice are being served after all!)

Small sting would work

i thought it was sharp scratch and has always been

YADNBU, it really annoys me OP. It absolutely isn't a scratch at all! Nothing like a scratch. I'd much rather they warn me about what it will actually feel like, not have me expect something completely different. It makes me think they're going to slash across my arm and have blood pouring everywhere. Just say it'll be a prick or a small stabbing sensation or a spike or something. Having just tried to make a wreath with holly in it im sure most people can relate to being spiked by something from the garden!

I do a lot of vaccinations for children, we tend to say it's a sharp pinch. Works better than scratch or prick!

Teenagers and me.

It’s all slightly academic….we don’t know what it’s going to feel like for you. Some people barely notice, some people find it painful. I say ‘scratch’ but it’s essentially just a warning something’s coming up that will probably be uncomfortable. There is a school of thought that we shouldn’t suggest any sort of unpleasant sensation is coming up because the patient is more likely to feel it as more painful if we do…

But she knows it means they will shortly be sticking a needle into her, so isn’t it just changing the meaning of the word 'scratch'?

I had a blood test today and the nurse said a little prick (definitely prick not 100% sure on the little bit) She's an older nurse so wonder if it's a generation thing.
Either way it's never a surprise you know what you are there for.

I understand "we never know what it’s going to feel like for you". But it never feels like a scratch, which implies something sharp dragging across the skin.

The word has evolved to mean something else entirely, with scratch there can be no misunderstanding and less complaints.

you just know what the vexatious amongst us would make of it

It used to be "little prick" but maybe that got ruined by Carry On Nurse etc.

Totally agree - it’s all suggestive wording/pyschology to make for a less stressful experience.

For my last bloods they’ve used a variety of pinch and scratch. I personally prefer that to a little prick because with the latter I envisage the needle going in deep but saying eg scratch reminds me that it’s literally just the needle tip piercing the skin and never that painful. I dunno it works for me!

But there is a misunderstanding with "scratch" because a needle being stuck into you is never going to feel like a scratch.

Of all things! If we said a small prick - someone will complain. It a male healthcare worker said that to female patient there would be much higher chance of a complaint or being accused of being sleazy, creep, innuendo etc.
Scratch, pinch etc gives an indication of the level of pain but will never be accurate for every single patient as we all feel pain differently. Some people I treat don’t feel anything, others have said it feel like a sting, a discomfort but not painful, tightness etc etc.

🤣🤣🤣

Really? I’ve had a lot of injections and blood tests and it has never been or felt like a scratch. A scratch involves something sharp being dragged across the skin.