Men B and needle phobia

[ilovesushi]

Took my son to his vaccination for Men B today and he couldn't go through with it. Came out very white and shaking and said he needed 5 minutes. I thought he'd had the jab and needed 5 before driving home. I had a call later from the pharmacist letting me know he'd not had the injection and she agreed it is most likely a phobia. I called the GP to find out options like some form of anti anxiety medication but they kept saying he needs to call not me because he's an adult. I said I wanted to let him know his options but I got nowhere.

Anyone else faced this or got any advice? Really do not want to send him off to uni unvaccinated.

My younger son has needle phobia. We were referred to CAMHS and after seeing him the offer was to prescribe him diazepam to take prior to injections. We weren’t happy with this so he has just started CBT which we are paying for privately.

I have a big needle phobia but find blood tests much worse than injections ‘in’ (like the Covid injections).
I use EMLA cream which helps a lot - but it is still a serious problem for me.

We had this and used Emla numbing cream (available at pharmacies) on the injection site. Apply prior to injection (check directions for how long), cover in cling film and wipe off just before injection given. No pain. He can also look away when the injection is given.

Thank you all for replying. We are going to go back and the pharmacist is going to use a numbing cream. I'm going to get him some rescue remedy. Never used it so so no idea how effective it is, but hopefully it might induce some kind of placebo effect. Arrrggghhh so stressful! This was not on my to do list.

Yes. Tell him Rescue Remedy is very helpful.

Sorry to hear of his difficulties and hope the numbing cream helps. Is this a recent phobia or does it mean he didn't have any of the secondary school-age jabs, i.e. in years 8-10? Reason for asking is that these include Men ACWY and HPV vaccine which are really important to have before going to Uni. Also, the GP can't discuss his treatment with you but what you could do is get your DS to phone and then he tells the GP that he is happy for you to attend the telephone or in-person appointment with him to discuss next steps.

You put the EMLA cream on one hour before the injection. The kit comes with the special covers that you put over the cream. It doesn’t always stop you feeling everything, though (I had a blood test last week and I felt a bit too much so pretty much fainted afterwards 😬).

Did you talk to him about it, OP, and discover what the problem is?

I have a needle phobia. CBT graded exposure therapy was helpful. If this is an established problem and hasn't just appeared with this jab its probably worth him accessing some kind of therapy for it and should be available through the NHS.

If you have money to throw at it I can recommend a phobia treatment clinic in London.

If it’s for a one off;

• Cream
• Accompanied and treated like he’s 8 (just take charge, offer to do the thinking for him in advance)
• get the person doing it on side, I want it done, the world doesn’t end if I faint, I’ve had a bowl of Cheerios / Frosties / some other carb and sugar rich breakfast and plenty to drink.
• wear short sleeve t shirt to minimise the lead up.

DD has a needle phobia and has had 3 blood tests this year which were pretty awful (struggled to get blood out!) and a cannula. She went white and felt faint afterwards but didn’t pass out. But what worked for her was listening to music on her AirPods during the procedure. The nurses have no problem with this and it’s a great distraction.

@Priorities2026 it's not new. When he was little he was seriously ill for a long time and had multiple prolonged hospital stays, so lots of blood tests, drips, cannulas etc. He didn't cope well at the time and now I think it is a full blown phobia. I can't even get him to talk about it. Just the thought is setting him off.

He did have the HPV vaccines at school but he was really poorly after them and the school nurse suggested we do the Men ACWY at the hospital. Frustratingly (kicking myself hard on this) we didn't get around to it. In my mind, it just had to be done before university. I was not thinking it would be this hard.

@Bellini12 music is a great idea. He was wearing airpods in the car and took them out on arrival.

Just not sure I can get him there again. The pharmacist suggested bribery. I am open to everything at this point. They have let us know we can turn up anytime and don't need to stick to an appointment slot.

I need to find some good succinct hard hitting info about Meningitis. A lad in our friend group died of it at uni (many many years ago) so for me it's not just stories in the news, I've seen this first hand.

My daughter (yr 10) hasnt had HPV. Her phobia has got tothe point she gets visibily upset if I even mention it - we've talked about going tothe special send session - but when we last did that (covid other child) there was still a lot of waiting and it wasnt any different.

Around here cahms referals only take you if suicidal and even then easily discharged. I'd love to know next steps!

I have a needle phobia. My first attempt at having teeth pulled in preparation for braces resulted in me running out of the dentist's and into the main road in a panic attack. The second required beta blockers and diazepam. The more scared I was, the more I laughed, so I was laughing my head off while having teeth removed!

Since then, I have avoided ALL injections. I wish that I could manage for blood tests and things (I mean, I administer injections at work, for crying out loud), but I can't do it unless I am doped up on diazepam.

The irony is I am taking a nervous cat to the vets tomorrow and the vet has prescribed anti anxiety medication for me to give her before the appointment. You would think the same could be offered to humans.

Some humans self medicate anxiety with a shot of brandy. Cats dont get that option.

Some halls / universities want students vaccinated.

The consent for the vaccination is worth seeing if can address separately. That will help it being jab and go. Might be able to do in and talk to the pharmacist and do the consent bit (with zero intent of vaccinating that day) and then another day when feeling up to it can nip in and do it fast.