Si chiama tecnicamente 'belonefobia', anche se molte persone parlano universalmente di 'agofobia' o più semplicemente di paura degli aghi.
It is technically called 'belonephobia', although many people universally speak of 'needle phobia' or more simply a fear of needles.
It is an underestimated problem that doctors and nurses have always had to deal with, and according to data collected before the pandemic, it affects 10-20% of the world's population. One more problem that needs to be addressed today, during the largest ever vaccination campaign against Covid-19 pneumonia, with figures that the University of Michigan says are even more worrying, based on an estimate of more than 16% of adults in several countries who refused a flu vaccination this year precisely because of a fear of the needle.
The news, published only a few weeks ago in the 'New York Times', has sparked a campaign to understand the true extent of the problem. Mary Rogers, one of the authors of the study, points out that it is still too early to estimate how much of the actual Covid-19 vaccine refusal rate is due to needle phobia. At the same time, however, he stresses that the issue
especially affects young people, who are also at greatest risk of infection.
"My heart was pounding. My mind was telling me: 'Calm down, everything will be fine', but also: 'It's terrifying, it's going to really hurt'." "Then" You don't know this person, so you can "Don't trust her". I was thinking about how to avoid it.
Raelene Goody, a 31-year-old young woman recently interviewed by the BBC - (link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55175483) about the problem, with cystic fibrosis, an inherited condition that causes lung infections and problems digesting food, requires regular injections, including an annual flu vaccine. But from the age of four until her late teens, she suffered from a severe phobia of needles that left her 'shaking' and often meant she needed to be sedated.
Doctors and health professionals continue to recommend protocols, lists of actions and good practices to prepare for the injection or to support people during the injection to overcome the fear. But still few of them point to the real solution: a needle-free injection system that is safe, easy to use and certified as Comfort-in.
