No single answer to fear of needles

Patients are ‘‘crying their eyes out’’ in fear of needles, but Dunedin pharmacists and doctors want everybody to feel as comfortable as possible during their Covid-19 vaccination.

The Government’s goal is to get 90% of the country’s population fully vaccinated.

At present 58% are.

Aurora Health Centre GP Dr Jill McIlraith said each patient had different needs, but distraction was the most effective tool for most.

That could be by having one person speak to the patient while another administered the vaccine, by getting them to laugh or asking them to hold something.

The practice would work around the patient’s needs and would do whatever it took to make them feel comfortable.

Some disabled patients required special care when receiving their shot and the nurses would prepare specifically to accommodate them.

Fear of needles was an ‘‘illogical thing’’, so there was no way of calming people with logic, she said.

It was more important that the patient feel safe and comfortable when facing their fear.

The ‘‘tiny, tiny needle’’ was ‘‘less painful than a splinter or knocking your knee on a piece of furniture’’ and it was over quickly, she said.

Albany St Pharmacy pharmacist Debbie Young said some people were ‘‘crying their eyes out’’ with anxiety for their vaccination.

There were many different approaches to keeping patients calm and easing their concerns, but the simplest way was to ask them to look the other way and do it before they realised what had happened.

The needle could look ‘‘a bit frightening’’ so it was important to try not to let the patient see it before it was over.

Almost everybody was surprised with how easy it was when it was all done, she said.

Antidote Gardens pharmacist Brendan Fung said there was no one solution to the problem.

People already knew why it was important to get the vaccine and there was little he could do to further convince them to come in.

The task of getting people over that first line to book an appointment fell to family and friends, he said.

Patients could bring those family members and friends along for the appointment if it made them feel better.

Once a patient consented to the vaccine he would do as much as he could to make the experience more comfortable for them, he said.

wyatt.ryder@odt.co.nz