Fainting from needles may be alleviated by reducing pain - study

Feeling faint after your booster shot? A team of SFU researchers found that needle pain may increase the conditions that lead some people to faint. In a recent paper published in the journal Clinical Autonomic Research , the researchers suggest those with a fear of needles or history of fainting could benefit from topical anesthetics to help reduce the pain. "We know that 16 per cent of adults avoid getting a flu shot because of a fear of blood or needles," says Victoria Claydon, study lead and professor, SFU Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology. Her team set out to study how psychological and physiological factors influence whether people might faint after receiving needles in their arms. "By reducing needle pain, we can help alleviate these fears and improve blood pressure control, helping people have a better experience that avoids causing distress and fainting." Study participants completed questionnaires to evaluate their general anxiety and fears related to blood donation and medical situations. Over three visits, each was asked to look away as a doctor or nurse inserted an IV into their arm, or pretended to do so, taping the IV in place without piercing the skin. The IV was either inserted after applying EMLA cream, which acts as an anesthetic to numb the skin, or inserted without anesthetic.