Any needle phobics had their jab?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

My 20 year old dd is yet to have her covid jab. She really wants to have it but it needle phobic. We’re hoping to go away at Christmas, I’m not sure if this will encourage her or put her under more pressure.

GP has prescribed oxazepam. Has anyone used this?

I’m thinking of booking her an appointment this week and see if she manages it.

Any tips please?

The covid needle is extremely fine, barely felt at all. I’ve been marshalling at numerous clinics, we’ve had some very scared people in, we have managed to talk them round so they eventually have it. We have a quiet cubicle set how and we’re happy to accompany them in and hold their hand if it will help. There is also a crash trolley in these bays in case people need it or if people would rather lie down to have the vaccine then can do that too.

No matter how busy we’ve been, we’ve always made the time to support those that are scared, and we’ve a great track record for supporting those who need it. & getting them to have the. Ked

Jab not ked!

My sister is terrible with needles. The last time she had an injection she was 14 and me and my DM had to hold her down between us...

She has had the covid jab. My DM went with her, she had 3 panic attacks in the waiting area but was determined to get it done as she had some events coming up that she would have to be vaccinated for.

The nurse was amazing, he used a technique where he kept tapping her arm telling her he was just checking where to inject. He did this for a few seconds and then just went "there, you are done!" She never even felt it.

Ring ahead if possible and tell them how phobic she is. They have seen it all before and have great techniques to help reduce that fear.

I am, in fact I am pretty much anything medical related phobic. I do however have a lot of illnesses so have had to develop coping mechanisms. The most important thing is to ensure whoever is doing it is aware.
Vaccine - this was actually one of the easy ones. Lie down, face away, jabber non stop.
Blood tests involve lying down, emla cream and jabbering non-stop. Pre mask days involved having water / juice to drink at the same time.
Smear - hard rock via earphones, water.
Good luck!

DD is needle phobic (she feints) but was determined to be vaccinated. I think if we'd booked and gone straight in she'd have been fine, but we queued and buy the time it was her turn she had so many tears running down her face her mask was soggy. They took her straight though to a bed, lay her on a bed and distracted her during the injection, then had someone observe her for something 20 mins while she lay down. Basically they were amazing, and DD stayed concours throughout. I think it helped that she really wanted the vaccination. If she hadn't wanted it much, there's no way she would have had it.

Thank you, I am very impressed with those who have managed it. I can’t seem to find any phone numbers of our local vaccine centres and the one we went to yesterday didn’t have anywhere more private or a bed etc, they were short on space.

My 12yo had a pretty severe needle phobia. She has to get jabs of various kinds because of underlying health issues and it’s been a huge issue her entire childhood. As she has aged she at least consented to being restrained to get them done, but it was awful for all of us.

For her Covid shot she went in and we were getting set up and I was getting prepared to get her into a brace position, but I think the fact that there was a bit of an audience turned her off and she decided to just give it a try solo. Jab went in within a second and she was like, “that was it? That was the easiest, tiniest shot ever.” She has gotten a second Covid jab and a flu done since and no more restraints. She got past the fear.

It really is a ridiculously small needle and a tiny amount of fluid.

Looks like it’s too late for our holiday now. I’m gutted I didn’t start this process earlier with her.

She does really want to have it, not just because of the holiday, but she’s very pro vaccination anyway.

My Dd is phobic and has managed both shots. I’m so proud of her. We called ahead and explained that she was going to wear headphones and I would do the talking. The pharmacist actually came out to our car so she didn’t have to go in and see anything medical looking. It was a big deal for her and really excellent exposure therapy. She’s considering that she might be able to have other injections if she had to now, where as before it just generated hysteria discussing it.

That’s fantastic @SweetToothsAntlers well done to her, I’m very jealous! Was so disappointed after yesterday. They said to us they couldn’t come out to the car to do it in case of a reaction and she has to be supervised just in case.

@bendmeoverbackwards the actual vaccine centres generally don't have phone lines as they are temporary - the admin make outgoing calls on their personal mobiles!

But there should be a local co- ordinator eg I'm in Sussex / Surrey and the centres are set up by ABC so they would know which are big centres with more facilities vs those operating out of a village hall. Your GP would know, or it's absolutely worth asking if they can arrange a home visit if you explain the aborted attempts already.

I feel for her and you, I really do. I hope you can sort something out.

@bendmeoverbackwards

That’s fantastic *@SweetToothsAntlers* well done to her, I’m very jealous! Was so disappointed after yesterday. They said to us they couldn’t come out to the car to do it in case of a reaction and she has to be supervised just in case.

Could they maybe do the jab in the car and then once that bits over you both sit in reception for the observation period?

That’s a great idea @cricketmum84 I don’t know why they didn’t suggest that! 🤷‍♀️ Anyway the time pressure is off for now, in order to go on holiday she would need to have the first dose this coming Tuesday. It’s not going to happen. We’ll go somewhere else that doesn’t require vaccination so the pressure will be off for the time being.

There's a drive through centre not too far from me.
They were sending people with learning disabilities there as it was easier for them to cope just sitting in car and vaccinator coming to window rather than added stress of going into a strange building with lots of people.
Could this be an option OP?

My husband is severely needle phobic. He’s also 60 and on the vulnerable list and shielded for over a year. My mum died of covid, he knew not having the vaccine wasn’t an option. He had it, had diazepam for the first vaccine nor the second and I’m now encouraging him re the flu jab and covid booster.