How To Overcome The Fear Of Injections If You Want To Get Vaccines [Tips]
How To Overcome The Fear Of Injections If You Want To Get Vaccines [Tips]
I’m a firm believer in the power of vaccines in preventing diseases so I made sure that my wife and kids have their prescribed vaccines. In fact, I would also encourage people to get vaccinated, especially the COVID-19 vaccine, so that they too will enjoy the advantages of a strong immune system. But guess what, I have fear of injections. I wouldn’t call it trypanophobia because I don’t have all the symptoms associated with it plus it’s only in the deltoid area where I hate the pricking pain. I can quite tolerate it in other parts of my body.
Image by Angelo Esslinger from Pixabay
How To Overcome The Fear Of Injections If You Want To Get Vaccines [Tips]
What could have caused my fear of injections?
I remember not being afraid of needles or injections when I was young although I’m not excited about them either. I get nervous at the thought of injection but I could go through them without any hesitation.
However, there was one instance when it was my mother, who was a nurse, who gave me my shots. I couldn’t recall what type of vaccines they were because I was only nine or 10 years old at that time. I do remember that it was so painful like my arm was throbbing and the pain was spreading. It felt like the pain lasted for hours.
Since then, I said to myself that I would never get an injection if I can flee from it. I can count one injection during high school when I was given medicine for stomach aches. After all those years, my next injections were my COVID-19 shots.
Just the same, I initially said that I wouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccines but changed my mind because I wanted to protect my kids. After all, we’ve had a COVID scare in our house when three of us were infected a few months ago.
Thankfully, we all survived but I didn’t want to risk it anymore. Hence, my decision to get the two jabs.
The 5 top things I did to overcome the fear of injections
Just to be clear, I haven’t fully conquered my fear of injections yet. After my COVID-19 vaccines, I really can’t tell when I’m going to get injections again. I think I was able to do it because I don’t have full-blown trypanophobia so I was able to somehow manage the fear right before the actual shots.
Image by Triggermouse from Pixabay
So, what did I do to (temporarily) overcome my hesitation? Here are some that might help those who are in a similar situation: ‘’’
1. You have to believe in the advantages of vaccines
I guess this helped me a lot. I’m a firm believer in the power of vaccines. It’s just the manner of delivery that I’m afraid of but if, say, a flu vaccine can be administered orally, I would’ve gotten it annually.
2. You have to think of your loved ones
As mentioned above, I’m a COVID survivor and I’m beyond grateful that I didn’t pass the virus on to my wife and kids. This is another situation that made me realize that I really should get myself protected through the COVID-19 vaccine and continued adherence to health protocols. I didn’t want another infection in our home because the first one is such mental and emotional torture.
3. You can finally go out without being too paranoid
We still go out only when necessary and that’s for our usual grocery runs and when I renewed my driver’s license. We still diligently wear our face masks and face shields. We don’t forget to sanitize our hands when we touch objects around us. Just the same, it gives us peace of mind knowing that we are protected by the Pfizer vaccines that we got.
4. Tell yourself that it will be quick
Days before I got my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, I talked to my colleagues who have already been vaccinated and asked about their experience. I was surprised to find out that others like me get anxious at the thought of needles.
Anyway, they told me not to worry because it will be super quick. Just a few seconds and I’m done. Minutes before my actual shot, I was repeating that in my head and it helped me get through it.
5. The pain is minor
I didn’t feel any pain during my first dose but I felt a slight throb a few minutes after it. It was during my second those when I really felt the needle. I guess that’s because the second dose is a little stronger than the first one so that could be a factor.
Nevertheless, it was just a slight pain that is manageable. What I did was to mimic the act of screaming but without a sound, sort of a silent scream. That helped me ease the tension.
Managing my COVID-19 vaccine side effects
My COVID-19 vaccine side effects were flu-like, which meant I had a fever, headaches, muscle pain especially in my right deltoid area, and a general feeling of weakness.
Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
What I did to manage to symptoms were to take a rest, drink plenty of water, eat well, and I also took Bioflu (Phenylephrine HCl, Chlorphenamine Maleate, Paracetamol) tablet.
My wife took Biogesic (Paracetamol) but I wanted multiple relief from fever, body pain, joint pain, and chills so I drank Bioflu. It’s also the medicine that I used to treat my mild COVID-19 symptoms so I felt that Bioflu is the most effective treatment for me.
You can buy Bioflu in all major drug stores and also online on Lazada and Shopee.
Epilogue
Getting vaccinated provides a multitude of health benefits but I understand that many people like me are afraid of needles and injections.
If the fear is not severe, you can manage it through some fairly easy methods. You’ll realize that injections are quick and that the pain is not really as bad as what our minds tell us.
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