Please help me, I'm a first year medical student and am afraid of needles?

I just started my medical course 1 week ago.Recently I had a practical where we are supposed to work in pair where one person will prick the finger of the other to obtain a few drops of blood.





While demonstrater prick the finger and smeared blood on the slides, I saw white spots, nausea, dizziness and i passed out for a few SECONDS.I was really pale and sweating profusely.


I researched and found out that I am trypanophobic(afraid of injection needles, hypodermic needle) and what i experienced that day was vasovagal syncope. None of my family members have this phobia. It was the first time I fainted, though twice before I felt the same symptoms on similar situations.





I've low blood pressure as well and I develope this fear only 2 or 3 years ago,reasons unknown.I used to be able to watch nurses giving injection without feeling dizzy.


Anyone with similar phobia still continue with the medical course?My dad wanted me to be a doctor,and now I'm afraid I can't.How to overcome this?

Please help me, I'm a first year medical student and am afraid of needles?
Talk to your instructor. you can probably overcome this with therapy, maybe hypno therapy. I'm not afraid of needles but have other phobias.


just a word of advise, you should be doing what you want, not what your dad wants you to do. Go into medicine if it makes you happy otherwise find a different career. I used to know a nurse, she told me that she passed out the first time she tried to draw blood on a patient. With some practice she overcame this and continued to practice.
Reply:Ask your doc for a referral to a psych person who can help you work through this. You need to do this ASAP as you will be doing a lot of work with needles so call your doc and get a referral ASAP.
Reply:I use to train Med students in Phlebotomy.





Learning how to draw blood is actually a very effective way for people to get over their anxieties about blood. It's stressful for the first week or so, but if you do it routinely and become good at it, you'll not only get use to seeing blood but you'll realize you're doing a service to patients by being good at something that causes so much anxiety in practically everyone.
Reply:Forget that they are needles!


Assume that they are Tinky-Winky toys!;-)





I think that you are giving this problem more than it deserves..


I was afraid of needles too, then we was enjoying playing with human organs!