Everything You Need To Know About Trypanophobia

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By Yhordan Serpentini | October 12, 2022

Have you ever visited your practitioner’s office and felt your heart drop with major anxiety when you had to receive an injection? Does the anticipation of having your blood drawn, receiving an IV, an immunization injection, or a vaccine ever make your heart race intensely with a sense of dread?

Questions may pop into your head as your heart beats faster, and your breaths become shorter: how long it will take? When will it be over? Will it hurt a lot? If you relate to any of these examples, there is a chance you may have trypanophobia. Trypanophobia is an especially common fear among patients within the medical field. Here is everything you need to know about trypanophobia.

Every person is different, and in that, so does the intensity of their fears. Some individuals may find themselves trypanophobic towards specific practices with needles, such as an IV, while others may find it incredibly difficult for any form of treatment with a needle involved. Current studies of trpanophobia suggest that there isn't one specific cause of the fear, but rather a number of differing factors that contributed to the development of the phobia. Some of the most common factors include: Hyperalgesia (sensitivity to pain) Traumatic or negative memories associated to, or triggered by, needles Merinthophobia Relatives who've had similar phobias Childhood phobias after the age of 10 A change in brain chemistry

What is Trypanophobia?

Trypanophobia is the extreme persistent and irrational fear of needles. Many individuals who have trypanophobia associate their fear with the pain that needles tend to cause them, as well as the uncomfortable feeling they may feel when a needle is injected into them, or the feeling of the medication itself.

Symptoms of Trypanophobia

Trypanophobia does not need professional analysis since it can typically be self-diagnosable, as other phobias commonly are. If you suspect you or a loved one might have trypanophobia, then behaviors to or around needles may include some of the following:

  • Fainting
  • Dizziness
  • Vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Intense increase in heart rate
  • Heart palpitations
  • Hyperventilation
  • Temporary increase in blood pressure

Causes of Trypanophobia

Every person is different, and in that, so does the intensity of their fears. Some individuals may find themselves trypanophobic towards specific practices with needles, such as an IV, while others may find it incredibly difficult for any form of treatment with a needle involved.

Current studies of trypanophobia suggest that there isn’t one specific cause of the fear, but rather a number of different factors that contributed to the development of the phobia. Some of the most common factors include:

  • Hyperalgesia (sensitivity to pain)
  • Traumatic or negative memories associated with, or triggered by, needles
  • Merinthophobia
  • Relatives who’ve had similar phobias
  • Childhood phobias after the age of 10
  • A change in brain chemistry

Trypanophobia's Effects on Your Health

Being afraid or scared of needles is extremely common within the medical field, but being afraid of them or not liking them does not necessarily mean you have trypanophobia. For starters, the phobia is, well, a phobia. It is an extreme and irrational fear that is very persistent before, during, and after receiving or anticipating an injection.

It is more common among children–roughly 2 in every 3 children are estimated to be trypanophobic– however, 1 in every 4 adults also suffer from this intense fear of being around needles; though, there have been further studies that suggest an estimation of the statistics to be roughly 1 in every 10 adults, instead. 

Additionally, this fear of needles can very much interfere with both your personal life and health care, as trypanophobic individuals will actively avoid receiving vaccines or basic healthcare where needles are a potential possibility.

In fact, about 16% of adults delay or completely avoid receiving vaccinations and immunization injections due to suffering from trypanophobia. According to the CDC, 1 in 10 adults delayed their COVID-19 vaccinations because of their fear of needles.

Coping With Trypanophobia

It is very important for those who suffer from trypanophobia to understand that having a phobia is perfectly normal, though it is heavily recommended to seek action or help if it begins to affect your day-to-day life. Your phobia interfering with your healthcare, although not something that experts would recommend, is surprisingly a lot more common than you might think.

The CDC estimates that roughly 40.9% of American adults actively avoid medical care out of a wide variety of fears, such as the fear of medical bills, fear of doctors, fear of being diagnosed with a serious illness, fear of needles, fear of surgery, fear of being around other sick individuals, etc. 

Know that you are not alone. If you are feeling extremely anxious, or that rapidly intense set of palpitations start, talk to your care giver for ways they can treat you that will accommodate with your phobia.

If the fear is persistent beyond the point of care, try seeking help or reassurance from friends and family, or perhaps therapy. We at Rapid Bio Lab help face this fear. If you are interested in seeking a lab test from us, let us know of your trypanophobia for ways we can alter our treatment for your upmost comfortability.

References:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, September 11). Delay or avoidance of medical care because of COVID-19–related concerns – United States, June 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6936a4.htm

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