This Troper had a cutting episode in her life and due to that she's not really scared of minor injuries. But even then she would freak the shit out at the very thought of pricking her finger with a needle. A huge kitchen knife? Yeah, sure, bring it on. Sewing needle? ''JESUSFUCKINGCHRISTGETITAWAYGETITAWAY''

It's a long story, but because I was kind of a sickly kid, and part of my weekly routine was essentially being held down and given injections. Sooo now when faced with a needle, I tend to cry, cling to anyone nearby and cower slightly. ...There's a reason my friend jokingly calls me River Tam from time to time.

Watch ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'', and know why this troper now hates visits to the doctor.

This troper is not afraid of needles at all. Once, when she had to get shots, she laughed at everyone else for being scared FOR HER! Alas, a friend of this troper is not so lucky. The friend, who used to have problems with self-injury, was once asked why she was so afraid of needles. In fact, many of this troper's friends are deathly afraid of needles, despite not flinching at all after having broken a collarbone from being shoved into a fence.

This troper doesn't like needles. However, this tropers sister once bit a doctor trying to give her shots.

I've hyper-extended a knee; stubbed a toe so badly that it needed to be x-rayed to make sure nothing was wrong with it (was walking with a slight limp for more than two weeks); twisted several ankles; scabbed my knees so much I have scars; fell off a scooter and getting a scrape that was WHITE (left a scar); cut my knee open (down to the bone) and as soon as I got the stitches out the first time, slipped and the thing re-opened (I felt the stitches the first time too); survived more than twenty mosquito bites at one time on limbs without scars, had hundreds of nose bleeds; so many scars from scratches from my cats, yet I freak out when I see needles. One time it was so bad that I was crying (that was this January, and I'm fourteen) when my mom forced me to get the vaccine for the [=H1N1=] virus.

This tropette, who practices Tae Kwon Do, watches scary movies without getting even slightly nervous, and does various extreme sports fairly often, is scared to death by bees and will fucking run away if they even buzz close to her.

Mildly Subverted/Averted by this troper - while she has no fear of needles herself, being diabetic, and actually finds the process of blood being drawn amusing and interesting, there was a memorable occasion at her first school, when the meningitis jabs were being given out, when the gym mats had to be laid on the floor of the assembly hall because over half of the ''boys'' had fainted at the sight of a needle.

This troper remembers his first experience with shots. His mother took him to the doctor for a regular check up and after the doctor was finished, he got out that littler pricker thingy they use to take a blood sample. Having never experienced blood being taken, he promptly flipped out and bolted for the door. He was forcefully dragged back, placed on a table and restrained by two nurses and his mother so the doctor could give the shot. This troper was seven.

This tropette was told by her mom that when she was 5 she got a shot, quietly went to her brother, and said this: #QUOTE# Me: Run, Eli! THEY'RE GOING TO STAB YOU!!

It was the funniest thing ever as I watched two nurses and mom chase him as he bolted for the door. Good times. XD

Interestingly enough, this troper can take blood work or mangling his arm in a bicycle accident without any anguish whatsoever, but found having his braces tightened the most excruciatingly painful part of his life thus far, and flips out when someone else cuts his hair for him!

To be fair, having your braces tightened is fairly painful sometimes.

''Sometimes?!''

Oh God, getting them off was ''100'' times worse for me.

YES!! I got my braces off 2 years ago. I was honestly afraid my teeth were gonna break from the pressure the dentist was putting on them.

This troper is a strange case of this. When she was young (like 7 or less years old) she really didn't care about needles, and while she didn't watch them go in, they didn't bother her. That all changed when I was around 8 or so. I got really sick, and the only way to help me were two needles to the leg. At the time I thought, hey, this won't be so bad. But when they put the (rather large) needles in my leg, ''took them out and stuck them back in again'', while saying to her "It won't hurt a bit"... After that, I really didn't seem to like needles anymore (understatement). It doesn't help at all that this troper has kind of dark skin, and really small and deep veins... So every time they have to draw my blood it takes a long time. Like just a few months ago, I have to get my blood drawn, and they had to put the needle in ''five times'', twice in my right arm, twice in my left, and once in my hand, before they could draw the blood.

This does seem to be a case of TruthInTelevision. This (young, female, shy) Troper once had a nurse take some blood, snicker, and tell me that I handled it better than all of the BadassBiker types she's seen in her time.

Definitely TruthInTelevision. This troper has had her lip, nose and various bits of her ears pierced with no problem, but will cry like a little girl if required to be in the same ''room'' as a hypodermic needle - which has confused quite a few nurses and doctors over the years. It's just ''different'', dammit.

May be because the needles for piercings don't start shooting stuff into your body, or because they just go through and out quick, rather than sticking around for a while.

I can back this up - I have been a tattoo artist for twelve years, and have to be ''sedated with Valium or some kind of pill'' before I can allow anyone with a hypodermic anywhere near me. Makes the nurses laugh, and I've overheard at least one ER doctor talking about "irony" in hushed tones outside the curtain. (Note to other tropers thinking of calling the trope "averted" because they've gotten tattoos - it is an entirely different kind of needle, and technique, and therefore NOT actually ironic that I'd fear hypodermics.)

When having dental work done, this troper's father has his teeth drilled without anesthetic because needles scare him more than pain does.

This troper has that done himself - and has a penchant for becoming woozy/occasionally passing out if a needle or some sort of injection is required, and sometimes even mentioned.

This troper's grandmother was the same way. The rest of the family always wondered how she could do it.

This troper does that too, although she's never had any very bad cavities.

This troper's fear of needles manifests in his imagination running wild if he so much sat in the same room as a needle meant for someone else. He imagines the needle breaking while still in his arm, the needle missing the vein and hitting muscle or bone, the person with the needle slipping and poking this troper in a delicate area with it (most especially the eyes), or other such things this paranoid mind can think of.

You are creating nightmare fuel for me. o_o;

YOU'RE NOT HELPING.

While serving in the Army this troper attended a week long combat lifesaver class, the culmination of which was for each student to start an IV line on another student. No less than 3 of the soldiers in my class of around 25 went into some degree of shock as a result of the exercise. Definitely TruthInTelevision.

This troper had something similar happen during his military service, except in this case the soldier having the IV insertion demonstrated on him nearly passed out. Another time when this troper was giving blood at the Troop Medical Clinic a private came in for the same purpose and ''completely fainted'' even before they put the needle in, and ended up on the floor.

For a twist on the same thing, this troper, despite normally being very needle phobic, had no problem when another combat lifesaver trainee was probing the troper's arm with an IV needle. (Well, except that it hurt, because he kept missing the vein.) When it was the troper's turn to put the needle into someone ''else'', witnesses said the troper turned so pale they were afraid ''he'' was going to pass out.

This troper gives blood once every four months and even with the benefits of respect, friendly atmosphere and free food, he ''still'' gets nervous when it's time for the needle to be put in.

When this troper gives blood, he does fine for the first 2/3rds of the draining, then gets creeped out by the fact that there is a long thin needle in his vein, and that warm plastic tube on his arm is filled with his own blood.

Did I edit the first one of these in my sleep? Naw, couldn't be, I donate every two months. I still get the apparatus covered every time I donate, though.

This troper loves giving blood (free cookies!) but can't watch while the needle goes in. She has to look the other way. In one instance, the nurse inserting the needle ''yelled'' at her because she shut her eyes (they don't like that because you might have passed out). The troper responded that "if I open my eyes, I '''will''' pass out."

This troper is so fearful of injections, he refuses to take blood tests and such.

Also I was so scared during Basic Training, the medics had to calm me down by applying spray-on painkiller before giving an injection-delivered vaccine. They still had to hold me down too.

Definitely TruthInTelevision oft this troper. He gets uncomfortable when around sharp objects, especially needles, and it takes him a lot of effort not to run away screaming when he has to take a blood test or get vaccinated.

Averted by this troper, because after seeing your own operation to get stitches put in your knee, needles just become less of a big deal.

This troper thinks the above troper is a BadAss and congratulates him.

This troper has watched his own knee surgery and still cannot look at injections or blood withdrawals. So YourMileageMayVary.

Also averted by this troper. After watching half of your big toe be surgically amputated under a local anaesthetic (due to a squamous-cell carcinoma on the nail bed, a tumor so rare that a cousin in California that works in a cancer ward has only seen it once in more than 20 years), needles no longer intimidate. Last time I donated blood, they even asked 'Where do you want it?' and I held out both arms and told them to 'pick one'.

This troper, in her preteen years, had to be ''strapped down'' at one point so the dentist could administer Novocain. It's lessened since then, but I still have to look away/close my eyes when the needle comes up in any form.

Inverted by this troper, who once had to have ''eight shots'' of Novocain before getting a tooth extracted. The dentist started with two, but then I complained. This was also years after needing an IV, which took three tries due to thick skin. I might not much care for them, but apparently needles are afraid of ''me''.

Inversely, this troper is afraid of needles ''because'' it took six shots of Novocain before having the cord put in his gum to mold a crown. Bled all out in his mouth, the needle went ''through'' the gum and almost stabbed his tongue... gah.

I don't think I could ever give blood. My sister does it all the time, and just thinking about that creeps me out. Geez, I had to look away when I got a tiny little tetanus shot. And the IV lines for my wisdom teeth removal and a broken arm, oh man. (Shudder). Strange thins is, I don't mind giving injections to others. I've given my dog a few immunizations with no problem at all. Also, going along with the trope, I'm a huge guy that doesn't mind the sight of blood.

This troper was quite loud and temperamental when little, but could easily be silenced by fellow classmates by showing her a needle. And chasing her with them; she was too focused in running to yell or scream. Even now, I have to turn away at the sight of any needle-esque object piercing anyone, even on TV.

This troper hates needles with a passion. Any time I have to get an IV is like half an ordeal. Mainly because I will move my hand a bit when it happens. Of course this troper is used to all sorts of physical punishment as being a martial artists so needles shouldn't be any problem. It was the worst when I had a needle stuck into my scrotum so the doctor's could numb the area to cut open a cyst.

This Troper ''used'' to be afraid of needles. However, when giving birth, when a needle in the spine is the only way to stop it hurting, you get over it pretty quickly.

Subverted by me. I showed signs of fear one time I went to get a blood test. It was fear of people saying annoying things. And yes, there were people saying annoying things, one of which I didn't notice until my father brought it up, the other an unfunny, cliché joke about me wanting to be around girls when the person doing the blood test told me to pretend I’m in my, "happy place", which now that I think about it... I was also mad at my mother when she said that a needle would only feel like a pinch because it definitely hurt more, it didn't even actually hurt that much, but definitely not a pinch.

I DEFINITELY agree with you over the pinching. It always feels worse. It's like somebody's slowing burning your nerves with evil cold fire as is seeps in deeper.

This troper gets squeamish from mild comments like "needle in the spine," much less even seeing a needle. This is bad enough that it applies to allergy skin tests, which involve the doctor pulling out dozens of little needles (not even real hypodermics, usually just to scratch the surface a bit) to apply to the arm or back. One was bad. Three in a row because the results were "inconclusive" was worse, with the third being dermal injections instead of the scratches. Apparently the fear was even worse when younger, including the need for the parents and a nurse to hold said screaming, panicky me down for immunizations - it took several tries because I was still moving enough despite everyone that they kept missing the vein.

This troper recalls seeing his friend (in elementary school, we had a compulsory immunization) being restrained by two teachers and a doc administers it. The kicker? A different friend of mine literally jumped over the school fence and away to his home that day before the docs are coming.

This troper ''used'' to hate getting shots because of this . . . and then he did two things that changed him: he gave blood and realized he felt giddy afterwards, and he was fully awake while his surgeon used a forceps to fine-tune his nose muscles so his eye would be straight. That second one cured him.

As long as this troper doesn't have to look at the needle in her skin or watch it go in or out, she's fine. But disaster can occur if she does any of the above.

This troper was banned from three doctors offices until she got therapy because her fear of needles led to injuring the staff there several times. She's gotten the therapy and is able to face needles by acting like a deer in headlights and staying very very still and whimpering until it's all over. If it works, it works, right?

This troper needed to take a hepatitis vaccine shot in sixth grade. In the nurse's office, he nearly strangled the teddy bear they gave him to death before breaking down in tears and running away before he could get the shot. He's not quite that bad anymore, but needles still creep him the hell out.

This troper isn't so much scared of needles as of anything that causes pain, but I do bring helpful advice. When getting blood drawn, have them use a butterfly needle, which is smaller, and have them draw it from your hand. This way, it hurts less, and they don't have to keep the needle in as long. You may thank this troper's grandmother for the wonderful advice.

This troper wonders if you're kidding because hand draws hurt way more on her than from the elbow bend. Requesting a butterfly needle is still good advice, though.

This troper used to flip out at needles. He got over it.

This troper used to be afraid of needles. Oddly enough, learning a SurvivalMantra by heart was what got her over it. It was the Litany Against Fear, if you're particularly interested.

This troper isn't afraid of injections (although he avoids them whenever possible), but he has fainted dead away every time he gets a blood test, and adamantly refuses to donate blood. Getting medicine injected is fine, but he finds ''getting his blood drained'' to be a little scary.

This Troper used to be this way. I'd look the doctor dead in the eye as he was giving me my chicken pox vaccine, but four years later, I'd '''still''' run screaming at the sight of the blood testing apparatus. I'm better now. (Thankfully, say the family members watching me as I edit this.)

Same thing. This troper is perfectly fine with vaccine injections, but when it concerns something pointy and metallic entering the body for a prolonged period of time, she tends to freak out. She really want to donate blood, but what are the chances the people will give you a general anaesthetic? Oh! and she has made it a rule to never get a serious injury or disease that requires her to go to hospital and have those canulas in her arm. *shudder*

Played straight to an extreme with this troper. After a moment in junior high school when some poor fool pushed her BerserkButton, she bit his finger. The next day she had to be tested for AIDS. The moment the nurse tried to take blood from her wrist, this troper went on an UnstoppableRage and ended up making a mad dash for the exit with the tourniquet still around her arm.

This troper felt physically nauseous just reading this article. He has flat out refused to have an injection since Year 2, culminating with a screaming match with his parents over a routine shot for something in High School. Oddly enough, he was recently encouraged into having a blood test. Probably something to do with the delirium causing fever he had at the time. Of what he can remember, the experience confirmed his theory that if mankind were mean to have needles, it wouldn't hurt to be stabbed with pointy bits of metal.

This Troper can't stand either being injected or having a blood test. Fortunately, his rather strong immune system reduces the need for getting shots.

Know what's embarrassing? Being an 18-year-old grown woman, being forced to get a hep vaccination, panicking and nearly bolting out of the nurse's office at the mere sight of the needle. In front of her ''father.'' While he knew that this troper had some problems with needles, he didn't know how bad it was until he had to sit with her--and he was frankly shocked she had it so bad.

This Troper doesn't mind needles and has no issues with seeing people get shots or giving blood. However, when she gets a shot or gives blood, she always closes her eyes until it's over and the needle is put out of sight. It's not really a fear. More of a 'it's okay seeing it when it's not me' than anything else.

This is definitely the case for this editor. I. Freaking. Hate. Needles. There was one time where I was so afraid I had to get the shot on another appointment. My mom was quite pissed and called me a baby, but still...

The doctors always get a kick out of my nervousness before a shot or anything with a syringe. Thankfully, it's easy to find a vein, so they don't have to *shudder* ''retry''. Also, since I knew that tensing up would only make it worse, I eventually learned how to tense up the whole body ''but'' the arm.

Completely averted with this troper. I give blood partly out of a feeling of social obligation (being O-, universal donor) and just enjoying the process of giving blood. I only wish I could do it more often.

Oh golly, this troper plays this one out to comic extremes. I have no fear of pain, blood, doctors, or sharp things. Hypodermic needles make me scream like a sissy girl and hide. This goes back to my early childhood when, at age two, I took chunks of plaster off the walls trying to escape some boosters. At twelve I, with a nearly severed foot, fended off three nurses with my crutches and attempted to run. Oddly my operation, the one to fix my foot, bothered me very little except for the anesthesia and tetanus shot. At thirteen my dentists had to: a) extract me from a locked bathroom, b) get a little mask over my face and crank the nitrous up to possibly dangerous levels, and c) strap me to a table while I kicked and punched everyone near me while screaming like a Viking berserker. Before going off to college a handful of immunizations were required, luckily at eighteen I was mature enough, aside from a few escape and bribery attempts, to just deal with it. My method of dealing included giving a terrified babbling speech about Terry Pratchett. Most recently, at twenty, the health center people drew my blood and I barely even fainted. Of course, my immediate response was "You want some blood? Give me a bucket and a gun".

Wow. That is now the most insane story I've ever heard regarding a fear of needles--and this is from a troper whose father ran out into the street in his underwear and a hospital gown at the age of nine. Something like that, anyway; it's been awhile since I've heard the story. They had to chase him down.

@/JMorgan suggests that, while fear of needles is perfectly understandable, some of the tropers here could stand to grow up and quit being so silly. Then again, @/JMorgan has had pins stuck in her face since she was about twelve, and maintains that getting a shot was the most interesting part of her dental extraction...

The extreme examples are called ''phobias.'' Yes, it's illogical, but for the people experiencing it, the fear is uncontrollably real. Some people can't just "grow up and stop being so silly," at least not without therapy.

I seem to play with this a bit. I'm only a little nervous around hypodermic needles, but this fear extends to ''sewing needles and safety pins.''

This troper used to hate needles, but then he accidentally saw the needle entering the skin. Since then, no fear here.

@/GreatPenguin doesn't mind pricks in the arm, but when offered a choice between a prescription antibiotic or a shot administered to the gluteus region, he quickly opted for the pills. Not to mention the time he had to receive a shot in the sole of one foot. Even ''with'' a painkiller, it was extremely unpleasant.

This troper has to be ''held down'' during vaccinations, but she has no problems with the needles themselves. It's the "getting a puncture wound" part that bugs her.

This troper knows 2 people who are deathly afraid of any form of needle-

My father, who can watch ''Blackhawk Down'' no problem, up to the point where the medic is working on a wounded soldier (can't remember the specifics, but he cringes when the IV is involved) and winces when anything on TV shows needles. He's a bit better now, though, mostly thanks to doing consulting work in Africa, that required around a dozen vaccination shots plus blood work before leaving Aus.

Also the Indonesian language teacher at our high school, who told us once that he needed to have his blood taken for tests. He specifically told the doctor that he couldn't watch it happen, so the doc waited for him to look away, and drew the blood. Then he walked across the room ''directly in front of my teacher, holding the syringe full of blood.''' Instant KO.

This Troper has been known to develop near-extra sensory perception of her body when forced to get a needle, to the point of moving her arm the exact second the needle is supposed to make contact. With her ''eyes closed''

This Troper also warns of following the weight requirement. She had a friend in college that gave blood with no problems, ate her cookies and juice and '''passed out''' just as she hit the door to leave.

Possibly justified, in this troper's case: according to her mother, the nurse who administered her first vaccination as a little kid just grabbed her arm, yanked it away from her body and held it there while she jabbed the needle in. All while this troper was screaming her lungs out. Mercifully, this troper doesn't remember this incident, but her mother still loathes that nurse and blames her daughter's needle phobia on it.

Almost averted with this troper -- she hasn't been afraid of regular vaccinations since she was 7 -- but she's rather nervous having her finger pricked, and when asked if she'd have ''four'' shots in a very recent visit she knew when to draw the line.

This Troper is *extremely* afraid of needles and has cried whenever he got any sort of needle poked into him until the age of 14. The fear however is just as strong. It is however a bit subverted by the fact that he *never* , in any way, tried to pull away his hand or to move away from the needle. He just cried, implored the nurse to stop, etc. Also, he has never at all felt weakened or close to fainting. This troper however did have his fear massively reinforced when a dentist recently needed *six* shots to anaesthetize him.

This Troper is slowly starting to get over her fear of needles after several years of monthly blood work and a yearly shot directly into her ''eyeballs''. This to a girl who, at ten years old, had to be dragged screaming out from under a chair to get her tetanus booster. That really doesn't seem so bad now.

This Troper isn't afraid of needles at all when it comes to piercings/injections/blood draws/tattoos. I AM, however, squeamish if it comes to horror movies that include scenes with razors and needles, particularly of the EyeScream variety.

On another deal involving needles, though, is the fact that I have several tattoos and while getting them, I enjoy watching others getting theirs. I find that a little extra fat is helpful because EVERY TIME I watch a big, buff, muscle-bound guy get a tattoo he passes out from the pain. The artists tell me it's because they have very little body fat to provide a pain insulating layer. This is why I work out for bulk and not tone. :)

This troper has a mild dislike of needles, but it hasn't prevented her from donating blood and getting a flu shot. Her father, however.... When she was a baby and received a vaccination, her parents also had to be vaccinated so they wouldn't catch it from her. Her father fainted, and he was the only one who could drive. (He still hates needles, 18+ years later.)

This troper has learned the value of a Valium prescription before any surgery. Before a foot surgery the doctor prescribe me 10mg of Valium, and although it took over 4 attempts to stick the IV into my hand( one time I swear I could feel the needle slipping and sliding under my skin while they tried to find the vein) I was so far off in lalaland I didn't care. Without the Valium I probably would have had a panic attack or crying fit.

This trouble has no problems with needles, having been stuck with [=IVs=] multiple time in his life. However...one time, a nurse stuck a hypodermic needle in my arm, and then pulled the plunger back to fill the reservoir with his blood. As I was watching, the nurse suddenly said in a worried tone, "are you going to be alright?" Apparently, this troper, who has seen other people operated on, watched a motorcycle victim in an ER pass away, and thinks "Hostel 2" was the feel good movie of the year, got DEATHLY PALE and trembling when confronted with the sight of his own blood being drawn by a needle.

Averted in interesting ways by this troper's sister: She was getting a tattoo, remaining cool as a cucumber--and fell asleep!

This troper's father once went to hospital and needed to be anaesthetized (I forget why). He called his wife to drive him home, as there was a risk he could faint behind the wheel. this troper's stepmother arrived, looked at the needle, and promptly fainted. the grandparents had to be called to drive them both home.

Mostly averted by this troper; she hated getting allergy shots as a child but has gotten over it, to the point where she actually enjoys giving blood. The finger prick before the donation, however, still makes her queasy.

Well, yeah. That thing freaking HURTS.

This Troper is not afraid of pain, having studied martial arts for a number of years, and has no problem with bleeding, as he owns a motorcycle, and number of bicycles, and has been involved in many accidents (not to mention the bad habit of biting his nails, thus occasionally leading to bleeding cuticles). And yet, he still goes pale and hyperventilates at the sight of a hypodermic needle, even on television.

This Troper had to be held down at her arms and legs when she was young to be given shots. She can stand gore. She watched surgery shows and remembers them from when she was two. But the thought of a needle going into her makes her squeamish. Strangely enough in an inversion, she wants to give blood. She'll just whimper when she does and wonder what the hell she was thinking.

troper is the inversion - needles don't bother him one bit, but he's squeamish to a fault about people's interiors. Blood, bad. Blood in needle, good.

This troper can get injections but has to look away or keep his eyes closed the entire time. Just seeing the needles gets his heart rate up. He has to avert his eyes when injections are shown in movies and on TV as well.

This Troper is a regular blood donor, and has a mild, disturbing fascination with needles. He does not like to look away when they tap that vein, instead he watches closely. This once made a nurse faint.

Averted with this troper. She does cry when injected, but that's just because it hurts. I am completely unafraid of needles, to the point where I will push a sewing needle under the skin on my hand just to {{squick}} people out.

This troper has loved doing that since he was small-he still remembers the look of horror on one teachers face, when he managed to get no fewer than ten needles under his skin in class one day.

100% Averted by this troper, who was locked into a chair with handcuffs against her will when she had to have a blood test done to be eligible for high school sports. This was done on the basis that "everyone says that they're not afraid" before the test. She knew she wasn't scared of needles, blood, or the slight pain, and when the doctor took the blood, she watched the container intently to make a point and get back at him. The look of fascination on her face ended up frightening the doctor.

What the hell? You are a far more forgiving person than I. I told my girlfriend about this and we agreed that in both our cases, it would be grounds for a malpractice suit of biblical proportions. I can see forcible restraint in a mental hospital, but in a GP's office for a routine venipuncture? Ludicrous.

This troper spent the first 18 years of her life deathly afraid of needles, to the point where she would bust out borderline {{Waif Fu}} if threatened with blood tests or injections (notable example: after contracting a stomach parasite on a school trip at the age of 11, this troper lost 15 pounds in under a week and was so weak she had to be carried around. And yet, she still managed to knock over a cart of medical equipment and punch a medical intern in the face when she had her IV inserted). One nose job and one cancer diagnosis/treatment later, this troper has a ridiculously strong stomach, a high pain threshold, and has become a special effects make-up artist. I gore people up for a living!

This Troper stabbed a nurse with his own chicken pox vaccine. when he was 6 years old.

This Troper may not hate needles as much as some of the people here, but still hates them nonetheless. As a kid the "solution" was to kick and scream. Now it's to read something long and detailed. Like a medical poster. Oh, and needles at the dentist don't really bug me, as I expect ''all'' of the procedure to hurt, not just the needles. The bits which don't hurt are bonuses.

This Troper is equal parts subversion and sad, sad example. He donates blood every 56 days (not afraid of needles). Goes rock climbing and platform diving (isn't afraid of heights). Once fell asleep during his root canal and various other dental jobs (isn't afraid of dentists). Is mortally terrified of eye drops. Literally must be held down during annual visit to the optometrist and be allowed a full five minutes between eye drops. Can't stand the sight, motion, or even thought of eye drops. And don't get him started on contact lenses...

Well, this one here also hates eye drops, contact lenses and anything that is supposed to touch his eyes.

This troper doesn't know about needles (never gotten vaccinated or needed to use one) but the idea of anything coming near her eyes freaks her out. Until a year ago or so, she wouldn't go underwater, sometimes even if she had goggles. She refuses to flush her eyes out with water even when something is in them. When in the pool playing, one of the surest ways to make her very, very angry is to get water in her eyes. Despite being athletic and enjoying games and playing in the pool with her friends, she has been known to refuse to play a game because it involves too much splashing. She is known to do her best to get out of visits to the eye-doctor's because of the air puffs. On a recent visit to the eye doctor (she wears glasses), the doctor said he wanted to dilate her eyes. Her mother noticed the {{death glare}} being directed at the doctor's back and suggested "Maybe next time...".

This Troper is even worse, nothing in, around or even within an inch of my eyes, donor except for eyes, short sighted, can't wear glasses or lenses, can't have laser surgery, will try to kill anyone who even tries to put stuff in or near my eyes.

@/{{Eban I}}, when forced to get eye drops will roll my eyes back in my head. The optometrist says "Guess you're not a candidate for contact lenses". Uh, yeah. I don't want to see things coming at my damn eye. The idea of corrective surgery on my eyes is horrifying.

Although this troper is frightened of needles, they never hurt him because after getting stitches in your head, needles don't hurt anymore...

Though I don't fear needles and find it to be a rather silly phobia (but that's why it's called a phobia), I can semi-understand why some people do. Particularly after getting blood work done a few years back. The nurse pulls out a huge needle grins and proclaims "This is gonna hurt!" Ya think?!

This troper's mother is fond of telling a certain story. When said troper and her twin sister were small, about 4, and getting some shots, her twin got her shot first. After hearing her scream of pain, this troper rocketed out of the room and had made it to the lobby before her parents and the nurse noticed she was gone. Her father had to go barreling after her. She accidentally bit her mother when she got the shot, too, because she clamped on to her mother's shirt with her mouth.

This troper started reading that she thought that she had wrote that as something almost exactly like that happened to her and her twin sister when she was about 4.

This Troper, as a child, a BABY even, would get a needle, and, as I am told, I wouldn't even flinch, and would stare at it; whether it was a blood test, or an immunity shot. Nowadays, I do a double take when someone says "Blood Test". If they just had to cut me open to do it, I'd be okay, but I have a rational fear of losing blood from stabbing.

Needlephobe troper has three tales of syringe-related dread.

At age eight or so, he had to have a shot... And, because of fright, jumped when the needle went in, making it like a zillion times worse. Not only did the needle go deep, deep in, but he had to have the shot again because it went to far in.

In high school, he tried to donate blood, but was so freaked out at the thought of a needle going in that his blood pressure was too high to donate.

The most recent time he's had blood work done (several years ago, not ''nearly'' as recently as he should have, but is gonna be his last blood test for a ''long time''), he panicked, tried to bolt and had to be ''held down'' while they took his blood.

This Troper is a subversion, in that I has had rounds of allergy testing that involve thousands of injections over the course of a weekend (the joys of having relatively serious allergies), multiple times in my life. For about ten years, I was also getting an injection twice a week. No fear of needles remains after that. However, I have large veins that are apparently ideal for injections/blood tests, and am more than a little creeped out when the nurses comment on that in somewhat gleeful tones (because it's making their life easier), and have gotten into arguments with nurses who very much wanted me to look away as they administered the injection, while I wanted to watch to make sure they were doing it right.

Been there, done that. I used to be squeamish about needles until two years ago when my allergy injections started, so I really had to adapt. It was worth it since I now feel like I could walk through fields of pollen or inhale piles of cat fur without a single sneeze. It's like a superpower.

This troper has trouble thinking of a single male friend who is not afraid of needles. However, she and most of her female friends don't mind. I wonder what that could mean...

This troper had to get stitches in her head at the age of five after cutting her forehead. She was calmer than any cucumber explaining to all the doctors an adults what had happened and why all the way to the hospital. Then they brought the needle and medical thread. I screamed bloody murder to the point where I had about four nurses holding me down while people stopped outside the little operating space, wondering why the little troper was being tortured. To this day, she still has the scar and cannot consider the idea of getting piercings or shots without feeling ill.

This troper once had to have a pilonidal cyst removed (GAHHH) and had to be put on an IV for anesthesia . I once screamed like a girl (I'm 6'1'' and 200 pounds) in class because someone tossed something that LOOKED like a needle at me. Needless to say I was out BEFORE they pumped me full of drugs.

Pfft. Pansy. I'm 5'10" and 160, and when I had MY pilonidal removed, all I got was two shots of Novocain up the ass and I just grit my teeth and bared it. Then proceeded to shout and cringe whenever I had to take out the packing.

Pssh. When I had a pilonidal cyst, I had it removed three times (at least four shots of something in my butt each time, with packing removal for a week or two each time), and then FINALLY had surgery to remove the whole area for good, complete with stitches and lying on my stomach for two weeks. And I stopped taking the pain meds the first day because I threw up three times while I was on them. And I'm absolutely terrified of needles.

This Troper’s had two bad experiences, and was a complete and utter wimp when she was little. When she broke her leg in 1st grade, the ER put her under a general anesthetic so that she wasn't thrashing around as they straightened out the leg and set the bone. The problem was, they had already straightened the leg out, and were administering the anesthetic through injection. They missed the vein six times before finally getting it, and since This Troper was also afraid of needles at this point, the only reason there weren't extra injuries was because she was only six. The second time, which is probably what largely got her over her fear of needles, was when she had ingrown toenails. Both sides of both big toes. The doctor injected the anesthetic in the WRONG PLACE and only made a small band around the base of the toe numb. He did not believe that This Troper could still perfectly feel the rest of the toe. This led to 10 anesthetic injections total, 5 in each toe...to a 10-year-old. In the end, her mother and two orderlies had to hold her down while he forcibly tore the toenails out of the flesh. Yeah, needles don't seem like much after something like that.

This troper is an inconsistent partial subversion. She hates watching the needle, tense up, don't like the pain, and will avoid getting shots wherever possible, in addition to a generalized fear of anesthesia and unconsciousness... but when the needle just has to go in, she can cope. What freaks her out to {{Berserk Button}} levels of terror is ''gas''. Her father ''loves'' to recount a particular story from when, as a child, she needed some dental surgery. Being a problem patient when it came to dentistry, the pediatric dentist had loaded her up with sedatives beforehand until she was woozy and pliable, and when it came time to put her down for the actual surgery, the nurse held up a bright orange mask and cheerfully explained that "Mr. Happy Nose" was going to put this troper to sleep... By all accounts, the drugs she was already under ''evaporated'' from her bloodstream, and she had to be held down, sobbing, for the remainder of the surgery. (The punch line being that, when it was finally over, she sat up and said "Oh, that wasn't too bad!") This fear has persisted into her adult years to the point where, when she had to have her wisdom teeth removed, she elected for a straight knockout shot with no preparation, because the idea of being given nitrous was just that terrifying.

Played straight to an extent, though. When she went to the emergency room and had to get a spinal tap, she begged for general anesthesia beforehand -- under no circumstances did she want to be awake for having a ''needle stuck in her freaking spine''. Admittedly, the excruciating meningitis she was in the ER for may have influenced this decision somewhat...

This Troper is an interesting case. He has no problem with needles, knives, or other sharps -- as long as either of two conditions is met. Either he must be holding or controlling it in some way, or it must be obscured -- for instance, by a plastic sheath, a hand over his eyes, or whatever.

This troper doesn't fear needles being used in a medical situation, or even for torture (or simply kinky) purposes, though none of those things are her cup of tea. She does, however, whimper and cry at the ''thought'' of getting a paper cut on her hands or wrists. Holy shit. At least with a little needle you know it's coming (usually) and you can anticipate the pain. With a paper cut, you feel the sharpest little sting of pain and then you DON'T REALISE WHAT HAPPENED until it starts bleeding. A LOT. Exacto knives also frighten me more than scalpels, to the point where I can't even look at them but I'll happily volunteer to being sliced open professionally. Just not accidentally.

This Troper seems to have feared anything in a hospital he has to lay down for, even they're just pumping the excessive wax out of his ears, just because the first time I had anything like that done, I was getting stitches put into my foot, and the ''anaesthetic didn't work''. I could feel the needle going in an out of my foot. And all because I dropped a dinner plate on my foot - although, due to a doctor with bad hearing, it's on record as a "dinner pie".

This troper was the little kid who had to held down by her parent and would cry when getting shots. Even now at 19 she still finds herself trying to slide off the headrest when the dentist gave her anesthetic for a cavity. They had to put on the massager to keep her relaxed so she wouldn't wiggle off the chair to get away when she learned about her top jaw getting it too.

Averted by this troper, who laughs off needles and routinely falls asleep when getting blood taken, but taken to extremes by his younger brother. At eight years old, the poor boy had to be held down by no less than ''four'' orderlies and nurses, with a fifth administering a routine tetanus vaccination. He was fighting back with such strength that my mother was literally afraid he'd dislocate something or '''break his arms''' trying to escape.

This troper freaks out at seeing needles in skin and twitches at getting needles because it always does hurt. However, she still will suffer it. She'll just whimper like a baby during it.

Oh ''hell''. When this now-20 troper was 8, he had ''seven'' shots in each arm. It was so traumatizing that he did not go to school the next day.

This troper is fascinated by needles, and often will watch herself getting blood drawn (on top of donating blood) -- but only if they're in the arm. Nowhere near her hands. She had an IV not too long ago in her wrist and couldn't stand it.

This troper was very afraid of needles when much younger, but after a tonsillectomy and complications, and then a bunch of dental work several years later, needles hold little fear. He doesn't like the pain of them going in, but hypos and [=IVs=] aren't frightening anymore in and of themselves, to the point that he wanted an IV port left in his arm so he could wave it at people and make them squirm.

This troper used to be afraid of needles as a child, but subverted this trope recently. When at the dentist for a very minor filling, she requested a not-so-necessary shot of Novocain just to be safe.

Inverted by this troper; needles of the blood-drawing and shot-administering variety are just fine, yet she cannot stand the mere thought of anything else that remotely threatens the structural integrity of her skin.

Subverted by this troper. As a teen, a specialist conducted a split second medical procedure ''by surprise'' (talks to patients mother, turns, uses scissors). As a result, this troper ''has'' to see the procedure. He can handle shots and blood draws, but he ''has to watch the needle go in''.

This troper isn't afraid of needles due to encountering them often, however his stoic father almost fainted when a dose of antibiotics were administered to me.

Used to be subverted in this troper; as an army brat relocating often through school I could re-take all those inoculations in stride ("Just stab me a few times and let's get out of here."), give blood and plasma casually, leading a nurse to remark in disappointment that I didn't flinch, and a whole office I temped for to look at me with some mix of amazement and admiration for donating to their blood drive. That changed completely after I had an EMG to test for nerve damage in my hands; that involved hours of a sadistic bastard sinking needles into my fingers, swirling them around, electrocuting me through them, and asking, "Does that hurt?" Since then I can barely deal with needles, my whole body and breath will clench up, heart pounding, I hear alarms going off in my head and it takes all my willpower to just get through the ordeal.

This Troper used to have this problem, but with the amount of blood the doctors are now asking him for, is getting better about it.

This troper cannot handle having a needle inside his arm for long. On two occasions, I have actually passed out, which my mother and the doctor had to try and wake me up.

This troper is sixteen and still deathly afraid of needles. I spent most of my time in the doctor's office hiding or trying to distract the doctor from giving me my shots.

While this troper has her share of this, she simply closes the eyes. It works to her.

This troper has it kinda odd . . . I don't mind about 99% of the needle. It could be pressed right up against my face sideways and I wouldn't mind. But if the pointy part is aimed at me, from any distance . . . *shiver* .

This troper has always been afraid of needles to a certain degree. I've stopped panicking at anything the size of or smaller than a needle for shots at the doctors office. But anything resembling an IV needle... That's a WHOLE different story. During my 5th grade Memorial Day weekend, I had to go to the hospital to get my appendix out. Thankfully, it didn't rupture, but I've held an intense fear of needles of the IV caliber ever since. This fear stayed quiet until the Red Cross came to my school (I'm in 11th grade at this point) and my gym teacher was asking for 5 volunteers to go and give blood, and the whole class could get a whole period off. This troper was one of those five, and managed to sit through the long wait and the testing parts without too much trouble. But then one of the ladies came and prepped me and I stating freaking out, but I managed to gather myself and told her to get on with it. Then, just as the woman was about to put the needle in, she asked if wanted to see it. I looked, saw the thing, and panicked. I wound up not giving any blood, crying a little, grabbing a couple of cookies from the food table, going out to my lunch period, and feeling really crappy for chickening out for a couple of hours afterwards.

This troper's older sister was REALLY afraid of needles, and described to this editor's younger self (I was maybe 6) how horrible they were. Needless to say, when the time to get my first needle came, I cried... Until it went in. I proceeded to laugh at my sister.

This troper is terrified of needles, to the point of bursting into tears at the merest mention of needing a needle and forgetting to breathe when one is actually in, but had to laugh when a nurse about to conduct a blood test told her about her doctor's phobia of needles - apparently she has to have him restrained every single time.

This large male troper may not be a fan of needles, but he's not afraid of them either, unless they're attached to something's ass. Bees, wasps, whatever send this troper running as fast as his fat ass will allow. As a child, bees have landed on my bag of chips as I was eating from it, and on my lap while the car door was still open, leaving this troper frozen in place until it flew away. Once, we had a bee stuck in the back window of the car. When we parked the car, this troper had to run across the street and wait until his father got rid of it. He has never been stung, but the fear is still there. Maybe he's inherited his mother's paranoia and fears that I'll be deathly allergic to bee stings and die or something. Also, this really didn't help.

When this troper and her twin sister were 4, they had to get blood drawn. Upon hearing her sister screaming, she hid under a small side table in the waiting room. Her mother had to drag her, kicking and screaming, into the exam room where she had to be strapped down before the blood was drawn.

This Troper finds that it helps somewhat to dull the pain/fear when getting blood drawn or getting a shot to focus on her favorite episodes in her favorite vampire-oriented manga/anime (Black Blood Brothers, Vampire Knight). Yeah, I know I'm somewhat crazy. But it kind of helps. Seriously. Just replace the mental image of a white lab coat doctor and a needle with Jirou/Kaname/Zero/Edward/name of fictional vampire character that you find attractive and/or smexy and feel the pain level go down. Try it. Just don't look at the needle.

This troper believes you are a genius. As a younger person, my favourite character was a doctor with a fairly comforting demeanour, at least for someone like me, who was also a morphine addict. It's difficult to explain to your parents (when they ask how you're suddenly acting so calm about getting stuck with needles) that oh, it's not really ''hard'', you just imagine your doctor is Faust VIII and you feel much more brave...

This Troper, having been once described as "You'd rush an MG-42 with a 4-inch K-bar," is absolutely terrified of needles. Oddly enough, he has no problems with preparing his dog's insulin shot; justified as "I know it's not going in me," though I still refuse to actually administer the shot.

I tried to donate blood a couple months ago, since my stepmom said she got over her fear of needles that way. They turned me away because I was panicking so much they assumed I would pass out.

This Troper's Aunt (who is a nurse) has found that the people who fear needles the most are people who have many large tattoos.

This troper is afraid of needles himself, but one of his friends is even worse. She caught some disease during a vacation and had to get inoculated. In the hospital upon seeing the needle she insisted she was perfectly fine and walked out, only to start feeling ill and pass out in the waiting room.

This troper is afraid of needles as well, but looking away and quietly singing the first song that comes to his mind helps.

This Troper is cutting the next bit because it's triggering and also extremely ARGH. Troper has been afraid of needles since her former (so very former) dentist got her by surprise and consequently broke a needle in her jaw. Digging the piece out took nearly 45 minutes, and this troper was so startled and in so much pain her fingers cramped up on her arm and she ripped RIBBONS OF FLESH from said arm... one was deep enough that you could nearly see the bone. Her new dentist took one look at the scars and always had a towel for her to clench her hands into and at least one staff at hand to keep her from jerking and possibly repeating the experience. Ironically she's not much afraid of needles anymore since she had a summer of dentistry - three times a week, at least four hours each time - and can nowadays even donate blood - impossible before that summer.

This troper can take needles pretty well...as long as her eyes are closed and she's singing a nursery rhyme to calm herself down.

Today, this troper got her meningitis shot. She squirmed away from the nurse for a good ten minutes before the nurse got mad and jammed it in as fast as she could. Scariest second and a half of my life...

Similarly, this troper's friend has a very tall younger brother. Said tall brother once had a very short nurse who couldn't reach his arm. The nurse finally gave up, jumped as high as she could, and slammed the needle in his arm (like one spikes a volleyball) so she could administer the shot. Apparently, it hurt.

God, was I a little terror when it came to needles when I had surgery done on my face a couple years ago when I was nineteen -- the nurses insisted on pricking my finger with a needle every half hour or so for the first 24 hours and it HURT like all hell. I think the nurses were, frankly, relieved to not have to look after me anymore at the end of their respective shifts. However, oddly enough, when getting a blood test or anesthetic getting pumped into my gums at the dentist, I don't even flinch! I guess it's only when I can see the needle coming at me that I know what's happening and am not afraid of it! But seriously, when I had my reconstructive surgery two years ago, I'm certain that I was definitely going for the AnnoyingPatient trope big time!

This troper, despite otherwise generally being unafraid for his own safety to levels bordering on stupidity (medication and neurochemistry combined results in overconfidence, at least in that context), is so scared of needles he has threatened to stab the doctor with them if they are brought near him.

This Troper is terrified of needles to the point where her father had to hold her arms behind her back to keep her from punching her doctor in the face while he tried to give her a needle. This is the same girl who loves watching other people in pain, and is extremely interested in blood and open wounds.

This Troper isn't afraid of needles... so long as she can see them as they go in. She has a very hard time convincing various doctors of this, and had a blood donation nurse basically shove her to the table for the same reason (and spent the fifteen minutes of donation time basically hyperventilating because of it).

This troper is extremely afraid of needles. So is her sister. So it didn't help when her sister had to get poked with a needle about five times and showed the bruises they left.

This troper has a horrible fear of needles. In fact, she had to be held down once when she was getting a routine checkup.

This troper has gotten stitches on more than a few occasions, and is fine with them being in. However, he goes into hysterics every time he has to get them because of the numbing shot. It doesn't help that the needle hurts like hell. Just recently, he had to get stitches for a serious wound to his finger. They had to give him two of those damn shots.

Completely averted with this troper (I basically treat needles like mosquito bites) but my friend was reduced to a sobbing mess when it came time for school shots, despite the fact that he broke his arm twice without making much of a fuss at all.

This Troper not only has an irrational fear of needles (and, by extension, anything pointy), but also of blades, inversely proportional to how thick it is. Fortunately she has had experience shaving long enough for that to not be an exercise in extreme mental trauma.

This troper isn't particularly afraid of shots, but when she volunteered to donate blood, she was much more disturbed at the sight of not the really big needle, but the plastic bag filling up next to her. She never realized how much 2 pints is before that moment. And as the nurse said, "Not your blood anymore."

I'm fifteen and I still need to be held down by multiple people when getting shots - which I only get when I have absolutely no other choice. And I'm the sort of person who usually doesn't mind such things as blood and sharp objects.

Troper This Troper is eighteen years old and, to this day, shudders and starts to whine at the mere mention of the word needle. When she was younger saying the words "shot" or "needle" around her would trigger a stream of tears that rivaled Niagara Falls. She even tried running away from the doctor at one point, but her father knew exactly what to say to make her come back. Although this troper doesn't cry anymore, she still whimpers and shudders at the thought of getting a shot.

This troper and her twin sister had to get blood drawn when they were 5. The doctors dragged this troper into the exam room, stuck her in a chair that locks you in, tied down her arm, and then drew two vials of blood. This troper screamed the whole time. Meanwhile, her sister was still out in the waiting room and had taken refuge under a table that was in a corner. She, of course, had wedged herself as far as possible into the corner. Their mom had to climb under the table and forcibly drag her out while she was screaming bloody murder and then take her into the exam room where she was also tied down to prevent her from making a break for it.

This Troper developed a fear of needles when, from around 3 years of age, she had to get regular allergy tests consisting of scratch tests and needles (up to 10 stabs during any given session). She used to have to be restrained by a couple of nurses and her mother each time. This fear wasn't helped by a bad reaction to a tetanus injection at around 14 which left her with a near-paralysed right arm for a week. As an adult she usually manages to get through most bloodwork without incident, but she always warns the nurse that she's not great with needles.

This troper has had a fear of needles since an unfortunate incident with a not-particularly-child-friendly dentist when she was 5. Blood, gore, broken bones and whatnot don't worry her a bit, but needles? GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY.

This Troper loves guns. He has been shot before. He's been practicing martial arts long enough to have been battered, beaten, bashed and bruised in every which way possible. This Troper still has shrapnel in his back from an IED in Iraq. This Troper HATES. NEEDLES.

Averted and played straight by this troper and her sister, not necessarily in that order. This troper was getting a shot, and she whimpered the entire time. When her sister got the exact same shot, she didn't say a word. BUT. The next time, this troper was fine with it, having gone through it already, and just didn't look. My sister? Crying like a little girl. What happened there?

Troper used to be terrified of needles. One day he had a seizure and was in the hospital for a short time in which he had to get numerous shots. Now he has to get blood tests every few months meaning that he kinda needed to face his fear. He also had to have a minor surgery and the guy doing it stuck a needle RIGHT INTO THE NERVE ENDING (hurts like hell but is actually really effective for numbing something). Unfortunately I also have Hemophobia (fear of blood) and the regular blood tests are now bad for another reason (slightly interestingly, fear of blood sometimes goes with a fear of needles).

This Troper doesn't have a problem with pain. At all. But the idea that the tiniest air bubble could ''kill''. . . I get my flu shot every year, but only because my family pays me to.

This Troper doesn't mind needles, but doesn't like to see them piercing his own flesh.

Same with this troper. She doesn’t mind needles at all, but once she sees one go in and out of her flesh, especially more then once, she loses her skull.

This troper, when he was little, used to FREAK at the sight of a needle. He'd scream and thrash and scream even louder when it actually went in. He's matured now, and except for a sharp intake of breath and inadvertent tensing, can take it without a whimper.

My brother in law is so terrified of needles that he brings my twin (his wife) into the doctor's office with him for moral support if he has to get a shot. Since I donate platelets and blood frequently (2X/mo platelets, blood when the center calls me), I find it hilarious.

This troper hates getting blood drawn because of shy veins. "STAB Oops, I missed STAB oops, missed again, let's try the other arm STAB the vein rolled out of the way, try to relax STAB." On one memorable occasion, I had faded green marker on my hand because the day before was St. Patrick's day. The technician saw it and went to stick the needle in when I said "Um, excuse me, I think that's marker." She looked up at me and said "What? No, that's a vein!" and put in the needle anyway. Then when nothing came out, she just said "Um, maybe we try the arm again..."

This troper didn't used to be afraid of needles when she was small, and in fact watched as a nurse took blood for a test (the doctor was worried that the reason why she and her brother were so pale was because of some illness, but nope, just a couple of very pale red-heads), and was more adverse to her dad ripping off the Band-Aid given to her several days afterwards. Now, while she doesn't really freak out or go to extreme lengths to get away from needles, she gets incredibly nervous. She has to do breathing exercises before a flu shot and make her mind wander elsewhere during it. Her brother, on the other hand, once had a panic attack after getting the flu shot and had to lie down. He needs this troper to help distract him while getting the needle.

Update: Brother threw up after the last flu shot. To be fair, there were actually two involved due to the whole [=H1N1=] thing, and he was in a really bad mood and so wouldn't put up with neither this troper's nor their father's attempts to distract him or cheer him up before and during.

When I was a kid there was a nurse trying to give me a booster shot she couldn't find the vain and had to try about over five times, mild Trypanophobia was the result, now I take a small anti-freak out pill or something before each blood test or something needle related. . . I hated my childhood.

This quite hypervigilant troper has an interesting variation of this. She doesn't mind needles at all, but ''only'' if she can watch like a hawk the whole time. Even thinking about not knowing when it would go in or come out, or worse, when the vial for a phlebotomy would be changed, terrifies her. Ugh, just typing that made her shake. She's never had dental work, but might have to get some impacted teeth removed soon, and she's really hoping whomever she goes to won't give her trouble about bringing a huge mirror to monitor his/her every movement.

This Troper, a coward by nature, surprisingly wasn't afraid of needles when she was little, but when she started having to take shots ''every week, or even more'' because of her bad case of asthma...

Even worse if you consider said shots give some ''not so nice'' aftereffects.

This troper was rejected as a blood donor TWICE because her pulse was too high (gee, that's odd). After doing yoga and learning how to breathe properly, she was able to get her pulse down to an appropriate level even while nervous. Since she was able to give blood that one time, she hasn't had a problem with it since.

This Troper- now 19- was extremely afraid of needles when he was younger, around 7-10. Because of the anti-seizure medication he takes, he ''has'' to have blood drawn once a year to test the level of it in his system- can't be too low, can't be too high. His younger self would cry and pitch a fit whenever his father rolled into the parking lot of the hospital his mother worked at (The tropers mother, not his grandmother) who only asked one of her personal friends in the lab to take the blood. As he got older, he got over it little by little- It still hurt and he still complained later on, but eventually the skin on his arm got too thick for drawing blood from the elbow vein, so the tech at the time (his mother's best friend and a family friend) decided to try it from the back of the hand. Been doing that ever since, and for some reason he can actually watch it if its going into his hand rather then into his elbow. *shrug*

Holy crap! I started reading your post and began wondering why I couldn't remember posting this before realizing that THIS ISN'T MY STORY. What are the odds of there being another 19 year old troper with a seizure disorder who got over their fear of needles due to frequent blood tests? On that topic, why the hell do so many other tropers have seizure disorders? It makes it hard to figure out which post is yours when there are several other people talking about their seizures.

This Troper has serious issues with needles due to her low, low, ''low'' threshold for pain. Last time she had to get a couple of teeth extracted at the dentist's office, she only cried when the Novocain needle was going in. She also hasn't gotten a swine flu shot, or normal flu shot, or any boosters she SHOULD have gotten either. She also hasn't gotten bloodwork done since she was a young’un' with a bladder infection. Blood and gore? No real problem. Needles? OH GOD GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY GET IT AWAY!

Me, but only during the needle pit scene in {{Saw}} II.

This Troper has been deathly afraid of needles since age 5. In a twist of cosmic irony, she must now undergo hemodialysis three days a week, which involves being stuck with very LARGE needles, three times a week.

This troper had a similar experience, and has always needed the freezing needles prior to the dialysis needles, resulting in over 4400 needles over the course of 7 years.

This troper suffers from a (thankfully) relatively mild version of this. He will avoid needles to the detriment of his own good health and well-being, but if the stakes are high enough (recent example: choosing between getting a tetanus shot and being ineligible to register for college classes), he will make the right choice. Still hates it, though.

This troper loses all rational thought when faced with a medical needle intended for her, and all channels in her brain turns to "OH GOSH THE POKEY EVIL THING GETITAWAY".

This troper is really very frightened of needles. I've almost fainted every time I have ever gotten a shot. It's not fun. Even when I got my ears pierced I almost fainted.

This troper's best friend has a phobia of needles. She won't even look at a picture of a hypodermic without freaking out. Imagine my surprise, when she offered to come with me into the actual donation room when I went to give blood. She did, however, look away when the needle was going in and being taken out...

This troper has issues with needles regarding the fact that they go into your veins. That is scary.

This troper isn't afraid of needles, but he doesn't really like when people are waving sharp or pointy stuff around him. Not like he couldn't take a little pain (in fact, he has a pain tolerance experts would call "insane"), but he generally distrusts people, even those who are officially qualified to handle those sharp/pointy things. He manages to stay calm (tough it requires a high amount of self-control not to grab the arm approaching with a needle or a pair of scissors), but he was a pain in the ass for every hairdresser and doctor he encountered when he was a small child.

Ultra subverted with me. I’m completely neutral towards needles. I remember having to don blood, and LAUGHING as the needle sucked that dark liquid that was my blood... Its a fact, this website drove me insane

This Troper had no fear of needles when I was five getting his appendix out. I was fascinated by them taking blood and giving me shots and tests. Forward three years and I had an ingrown toenail. Go to the Doc's to have it removed and find out that I'm immune to lidocane. The doctor doesn't believe this and administers something like 15 shots to one big toe in a meaningless attempt to make it work. The toenail gets removed without anesthetic and I gained a fear of needles. This fear was so strong that at my annual blood draws (mother is diabetic) I had to be held down by three people. The best part, apparently it no longer applies to certain things. I don't care about [=IVs=] anymore, or lancets, which is good since I have type 2 diabetes myself but if it has a syringe attached I have to clamp down on myself in my mind and look away. This extends to those vial things they use for blood draws now. I live in fear of needing insulin because I don't think I'll be able to inject myself.

Troper had near-fatal lead poisoning as a child, and the treatment required weekly blood work. Even at 21, I still have major issues with needles (but ironically, I don't mind getting pierced or tattooed.). At the very least, I've mastered my fear to the point where a nurse doesn't need to sit on me just to get the blood drawn. Although more than one has written out a prescription for Valium and asked me to come back the next day.

This troper is hypersensitive, so blood test hurt like hell. One doctor didn't believe my mom when she said I don't like needles, it didn't end well. Said doctor also doesn't believe teenagers can have fibromyalgia either and called me, basically, a liar and a nutcase, The next doctor we saw was kind enough to give me lidocaine, unfortunately, that was when we discovered I'm allergic. My life is an aversion of ThereAreNoTherapists, I've been in therapy for the past six years dealing with my needle phobia.

I'm the exact opposite! Maybe it comes from having to have 8 of my teeth pulled since I was really young, since I couldn't get them out myself. Anyway, I actually prefer to look at the needle and I don't even bat an eye. I can't see why you're all so afraid of silly little needles! It's kind of cute, though...

This female troper is not afraid of shots, or sticking needles under her skin. Or blood, where she came from scabs and scars were a badges of honor. She's great with pain. However, she can't stand having her blood taken. Maybe because back when she was 12 they completely botched it and hurt her badly. She went to have her blood taken today and ran away just before the needle was inserted, saying "Excuse me! I need some air!!" When she (while in a state of panic) came back, they stuck the needle in not one, not two, not three, but FOUR (!) different places, and NO BLOOD! Even though she had been drinking water like crazy. The nurse couldn't explain it. She has to back tomorrow. even looking at the bandages on her arms makes her sick.

This troper is an inverse of most people. She has no problems with needles for medical purposes; injections don't faze her a bit, she's had several [=IVs=] in the course of her life, and she made it through a spinal tap (which had to be done with the needle in ''the wrong location'' because it was the only way to get around the metal rods fused to her spine) with very little complaint. But she can't stand the idea of getting tattoos or piercings because the needles used for ''those'' freak her

This troper has been afraid of needles ever since she can remember. When she was six and had to get shots for kindergarten it took five corpsmen and her father (who is 6'4") to hold her down. She has gotten a bit better since then; now she only needs to squeeze something very tightly (as in decapitatingly tight). She doesn't mind watching people stick themselves means her best friend was diabetic, but will cringe at the mention or thought of needles poking people. She had her hands clenched while reading this page.

Subverted in the case of this troper, who is annoyed by the nurse at the blood donation clinic who remarks, "Ooh, you don't like this part, do you?" The piercer who did her navel said something similar. Yes, the troper tenses up and looks away when the needle goes in. It HURTS. It is not a phobia, it's a low pain threshold.

This troper wasn't afraid of needles until she was in her teens, when she finally understood the process beyond, 'it pokes you'. So when she was told a few weeks ago that thanks to her parents being negligent about her vaccinations, she had to receive SIX shots, one after the other, she was understandably upset. However she managed to get through it by wincing dramatically, joking around with her mother and the nurse, and NOT looking at the needle. Afterwards, surprisingly, the nurse and the doctor said they'd never seen someone so calm about getting so many shots. Three shots in each arms till hurts like hell though.

This troper has a teacher that is a retired nurse. She said she once got a football player who needed a shot. Big buff guy, not afraid of anything... except needles. He swore that he faints every time he gets a shot. So my teacher lied and told him to lie down on the examination table because it's impossible to faint lying down. Needless to say, the kid believed her and did not faint.

My Pomeranian is terrified of getting shots at the vet, and she even starts screaming before the vet even sticks her, meaning that she can anticipate it coming. This is probably because it hurts her more because she's so much smaller than my other dogs, who barely react to shots (although my Elkhound is scared anyway of being touched by the vets). Ironically, I'm not scared of needles myself, mainly because I've had so many in my lifetime it's not scary anymore (although I did used to get scared when I was younger, and the scene in TheRescuersDownUnder where Wilbur literally gets shot with a needle out of a gun didn't help at all).

This troper despises (hollow) needles in other peoples hands. I tense up unconsciously around them. However, it turns out that Nitrous prevents one from tensing up, or at least I couldn't feel myself tensing up. Don't know. Woke up an hour later with an ice cream cone and a missing pair of Wisdom Teeth.

This troper is not afraid of needles at all and doesn't think needles really hurt, either. My lack of reaction(and the fact I ''always'' watch) actually creeps my family out and makes them wonder if I'm human. I have to ask, even if the needle did hurt, isn't it better than getting sick? I don't understand the fear. Could someone enlighten me on the subject?

The below hyperalgesic troper's perspective: Getting sick is a ''possibility''; the pain of the needle is a ''certainty''. And if you do get sick, it's likely to be a general feeling of malaise for a little while, rather than the intense, sharp pain, and that malaise makes a ''really'' good excuse to skip work and veg out all day. So long as it's not lethal, the irritation of the disease is less noxious than the pain of injection. After all, when's the last time you heard of someone dying from rubella, mumps, or chicken pox? A deadly disease, like rabies, should be vaccinated against, but only with liberal application of lidocaine gel to the skin prior to injection.

This troper is a self-diagnosed hyperalgesic and so has developed a mild fear of ''anything'' capable of causing pain, but is absolutely terrified of sharp, pointy objects (she can use a knife to cut up meat as food without trouble, but point one at her, even in jest, and that sick feeling of terror wells up in her stomach). To put the pain in perspective, the 27-gauge injection needle commonly used by doctors feels more like a butcher knife in her arm. It's especially annoying that it's the mechanical nociceptors, the ones that sense tears in the skin, that are so sensitive, and most tests for pain perception rely on hot/cold sensation, so she refuses to even be tested by a doctor (after all, what intelligent human being would willingly submit themselves to pain? Yes, masochism makes absolutely ''no'' sense to her). She also believes doctors should be taught that lidocaine gel is the holy water of medicine and to use it freely for all patients, without having to be pestered for it and then chiding their patients for "being wimps" or "drug-seeking behavior"..

This troper used to be fine with needles, until one summer before entering 7th grade when she had to get her tonsils out. A week before the surgery, I had to get my blood drawn. They had an intern do it to me. The intern didn't know what she was doing and tried to find the right spot and just finally gave up stabbing me and pricked my finger and squeezed the blood out. Then on surgery day I was all set for the procedure when a nurse came to put my IV in my wrist. She didn't know what she was doing and stabbed the needle in NINE TIMES before they went and got a more experienced nurse. Needless to say that was a bad experience for me. Now I'm entering 10th grade and if I so much see a needle, I start to hyperventilate and if I don't drink anything after getting a shot, I throw up. It got so bad that I flat out refused to get the swine flu shot and my dad had to drag me to the doctor to get it.

This troper loves to tell anyone JerkAss blood donors who call him a pussy for being afraid of needles the story of HOW this phobia enter his life. I was two years old and don't remember being sick, just tired. Around 11pm(or later it was an ungodly hour for a two year old to be awake at) one night his parents get him into car. I resume sleeping on the way to the hospital. The next memory I have is being awaken on an hospital table bed stripped to my underwear surround by doctors/nurses in full scrubs being stabbed in various parts of his body. I tried to swat the needles out of a few of their hands but there were too many(apparently the docs thought they could get an IV in without waking me cause I was not strapped down). They must have sedated me cause I cannot remember the try that got the IV in my hand by the night nurse. It was a total of ELEVEN attempts before they got that IV in. Later I was told that I was severely dehydrated and that is why I needed the IV. For years I would break down in tears and beg my mother to take me home whenever the doctors needed to do anything involved with piercing my skin(such as drawing blood, injections, etc) I am mostly better now in that I can handled if I do not watch it. I still refuse to give blood despite having O- though... it may have been just his luck with hospitals thought, my mother told me about when I was born that the doctors freaked out cause I had O- blood and my mother didn't, going so far as to wonder where it could have come from apparently forgetting that baby-making requires two people(my father has O- as well but the docs had to be TOLD this by my mother to get them to calm down)...

This troper once wanted to hid behind the chair in the doctor's room because she was about to get her shots. And yeah, needles still creep her out, even tough she now has the courage to close her eyes try not to think about it.

This Troper has given blood more than 150 times plus getting 50 odd shots. I have never seen the needle in my arm. Never!

This troper is so scared of needles she refused Novocain when she had dental work. She also loves gore but can't see needles on TV. Only parts of ''Pan's Labyrinth'' where she looked away? The stitches and the shot. She refuses to watch a certain ''Saw'' movie because of that one scene.

This troper would like to introduce everyone on this page to Singaporean blood donation, with a little artistic license. The first thing you get is a shot of local anesthesia in the arm. While the drug spreads around your lower arm, and you mess around with your numb arm, the nurse goes and prepare the bags. When she's done, she takes a few drops of blood to test for anemia in a copper sulfate solution. Once she's satisfied that you weren't lying in the questionnaire before the donation, she attaches a cuff to your upper arm and asks you to pump on a rubber ball until your veins are visible. That's when she shows that she's been hiding a needle 1mm in diameter behind her back and she injects into your vein. Feel free to scream.

Things can become worse. This troper's Bio teacher once had an incident which swore him off blood donation. The nurses are experienced. They can stab the needle in with a swift, fluid motion, and strike blood. Some doctors, on the other hand, can't hit, and can't wait for the anesthesia to kick in. Once they're in, and no blood comes out, it's a matter of ''navigating'' the needle around until they strike a vein. The only side-effect apart from the intense awkwardness, the dull pain and the urge to strangle said doctor is the humongous bruise one gets on the lower arm because bruises are, technically speaking, internal bleeding.

Dear lord, where to start with this Troper? The very thought of anything even remotely related to syringes makes him cringe...

Let's see...... I'm 13 and don't have my ears pierced. I had to be held down to get blood samples at the doctor until I was 9. I was disgusted when one of my friend's dad started beating his arm with nails (don't ask.) Et cetera et cetera...

This Troper's father is 6'3", able to throw seed bags like nobody's business, and once chased a robber out of his house with a hunting rifle when he was thirteen. However, if he so much as sees a medical needle he starts sweating and trembling. He had to be heavily drugged to get a series of needles and has started he would rather slit his wrists for a blood test. He claims it's because his father used to chase him around with a huge horse needle, which I expect would do it. It doesn't help that he married a nurse who often gives vaccinations in the kitchen.

When this troper was in Grade 6, everyone had to get their tetanus shot. I, a girl, was one of the first to take the shot and I didn't think it was too bad. However, some of the guys in my class where reduced to tears, had to go to the "panic box" for twenty minutes and were STILL complaining about it after school.

This troper is '''terrified''' of needles and blood, and can't even watch someone get an injection on TV. Surprisingly, she's managed to donate blood several times, but she can only do it when she has someone with her to distract her from the needle (the one time she didn't have that, she nearly fainted - and she actually ''did'' faint during a blood test years earlier).

This troper nearly fainted when he was told that he had to get blood drawn for a simple test. I hated needles all the time, but the actual thought of filling UP a needle with MY BLOOD gave me nightmares. When it was finally time, I freaked out twice before they could put the needle in. I was shaking, crying and terrified, and my mother seriously considered taking me to a hospital to put me under in order to draw blood. Third time was the charm, as they kept me down, but I was left in a sort of Thousand Yard Stare afterwards, and it still kind of hurt about an hour later. About a week later, said mother came in to tell me the "good news" that I didn't have anything wrong with my blood. Yeah, because I was so worried that I had hemophilia or diabetes instead. The worst part? I was screaming my head off, rocking back and forth, at the age of 18. Hell, writing this, I'm STILL shaking.

This Troper was surprised at how well her dog acted when getting a rabies shot. He just looked at the vet like "Excuse me?" There had been another dog three times his size who had to be held down and muzzled to get the shot, whimpering the whole time.

This Troper always faints when she has to get stuck with a needle. Tried distracting herself by reading. Didn't work. Tried drinking water. Just got wet. A nurse suggested eating something high in protein (like sausage or peanut butter) before having it done. Well, my next check-up is in 5 months. We'll see.

Funnily enough, this troper is only afraid if needles if they're being stuck into her, not if she's the one doing the sticking. Good thing too; I plan to be a veterinarian. Recently though I've been getting better with the needle thing, although I learned this summer when I got blood drawn that I have very narrow veins...(Thankfully it only took one try.)

This troper is trying to stop her fear of needles, considering that the one doctors use aren't gigantic and painful looking like the ones you see on TV, she managed to tolerate the ones at the dentist office because they look less like needles, and more like guns.

This Troper tends to get faint whenever she gets her shots, and often has to sit with a glass of water for a while after it's done.

Another aversion by this troper. I've gotten so many blood draws it's started to feel like almost nothing.

My moment here came when I had to get blood drawn for a survey (Note: This was my first time). However, I misheard my dad as saying "It hurts much more than a wasp" when he was saying the exact opposite. Cue terror.

Inverted with this troper. He is afraid of basically anything, but cannot understand why anyone would fear needles. It's not like it kills you or anything.

Let me make this perfectly clear: I am absolutely terrified of needles. I am so afraid of them that I have stated several times that I'd rather DIE than to take them. Yes. I know. Totally irrational and I should suck it up, but I am absolutely serious. I would have. But that's not the story I'm telling. One day, I had to take a injection for school-related reason. I was being totally unreasonable. Screaming, crying, begging for any other way. But then my mom with me there told me that she wanted me to take the shot. And I did. Albeit blubbering like a baby. Let me illustrate this again: I would have chosen to die than to have to get a shot, but I did it anyway for my mom. I basically deemed my mother more important than my own life. Does that count as a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming?

This Troper has played hockey and other sports most of his life, and has broken many bones in his body as a result. However, he is deathly afraid of needles, to the point where his body goes into full-on panic mode as a if he so much as sees one. For example, once, he was hit in the throat with a puck, which partially crushed his windpipe. He walked off the ice and onto the ambulance calmy, holding his throat, then passed out from lack of oxygen. When he came to, the doctors had to deliver a shot, and he almost pulled his oxygen line off of the tank during his panic from seeing the needle. Eventually, he got the shot... after he was strapped to the bed.

This troper has always hated needles and had to be restrained every time until he was 12. When he had to start getting regular (3 month) bloodwork at 18 as a requirement of the anxiety drugs he takes, he passed out the first time he got poked. And since then he's gotten much better and no longer passes out (sometimes gets a wee bit nauseous...) as long as he doesn't watch the blood filling up the tube. He can watch the needle go in with no problem - it normally doesn't hurt all that much anyway. But if he doesn't turn away before the phlebotomist opens the vacutainer, he passes out when he sees the blood. And he even worked at a slaughterhouse for 3 months and watched cows exsanguinate all day with no problem at all. It's only his own blood that freaks him out.

Although it was heavily averted the last time he had to get a tetanus shot. This troper's last tetanus shot was 10 years ago when he was 16. The doc, after a routine exam, said, "welp, you need a tetanus shot." And the troper freaked. The nurse came in and saw me shivering in the chair and suggested I lay down on the bed. And I rolled over on my side and rolled up my sleeve and was still shivering in the fetal position. She laughed at me and said she'd be right back. The she came back with a teddy bear and a smile and while I was laughing at the prospect of a 26 year old male needing a teddy bear to get a shot, she evidently must've given it because I heard her leaving and I rolled over and asked what the problem was now. She said there wasn't a problem. I said, why didn't you give me the shot? She said that she did. I hadn't even felt it a tiny bit. But OOOOH did it hurt the rest of the week. To the point I had to put hot compresses on the arm to bring the stiffness down. I've taken punches that took less time to heal.

When this troper was in the hospital for an unknown nervous condition (turned out to be a really bad anxiety attack), they had given him a boatload of valium to try and bring his heart rate down. He remembers a nice black man coming in and saying that he needed to take some blood. The troper's response was, "that sucks." Then when the man was putting a bandage on the hand where he'd taken the blood, the troper asked, "Wha~~?" And the man said, "I'm all done." And the troper said, "with what?" And the man said, "taking blood." The troper replied, "that sucks." That's the only time he's never been bothered by a blood draw.

On a needle-note, the IV contrast dye used for CT scans feels REALLY FUNNY going into your arm from that pump machine they use.

The worst part used to be the smell of the isopropanol prep before the insertion. Now it's the sickening "pling" that the needle cover makes when the nurse uncaps it before the shot/IV/venipuncture.

I have a nice dentist that not only does oral conscious sedation which helps a lot but is also top-notch when it comes to injections. He proved to me that patience and skill means that there CAN REALLY BE such thing as a painless shot. Even a Gow-Gates block (which involves translating the needle past the lower condyle of the jaw joint), which I used to dread, isn't a big deal anymore. It's still uncomfortable but I don't whimper and shake like I used to.

Funny story - seasonal flu shot. I was working as a civilian on an Air Force base but doing the same job as an enlisted member would do. I had access to just about all the perks of military life, including free flu shots. Now I was 18 at the time and really wasn't that freaked by a flu shot. But as soon as I actually saw the needle, I started to panic and I was dazed all the way back to my office. I walked in the door and said to my office mate, "I don't feel well." And then I passed out. I giggle-cried at this year's flu shot. I didn't even feel it but they made us flap our arms to disperse the fluid through the muscle tissue (reduces soreness) and I was wierded out by the thought of putting stress on a newly-injured muscle. It did work though - there was no soreness from that shot.

This Troper's Completely Badass Best Friend had to get a flu shot at school. When approached with the needle, she began to freak out. The nurse who was giving her the shot said 'If you struggle, the tip will break off in your veins.' Needless to say, Best Friend FLIPPED HER SHIT and had to get seven people to hold her down. Seven!

I've been a needlephobiac ever since I was a baby, and recently tried to get over it by donating blood. Didn't even get to the initial finger-poke (to test your level of something-or-other) before the nurse looked at the white-faced, trembling would-be donor and gently told me I needed to come back another time.

This troper is very afraid of needles & the dentist.

This Troper almost fainted after having her blood drawn on numerous occasions. Shots are OK, but having blood drawn or an IV are not.

This troper was AfraidOfNeedles until having to get used to using them after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Since then he has been on an insulin pump, which doesn't require several daily injections... though it does require once every 3 days using a metal needle to make room for the plastic tubing that delivers the insulin.

This troper was so deathly afraid of needles that he had to have his blood pressure retaken because it spiked upon hearing he had to get his MMR. IGotBetter after that.

This tropette isn't too afraid of needles. She has received them from the doctor, when getting shots, multiple times. It's a little unnerving, sure, but her method to avoid the {{Squick}} is to look away when they inject her. However when she had to go to the oral surgeon to get her wisdom teeth removed, she nearly hyperventilated before they could get the anesthesia IV in... Thank god her mother was there, or she would have never gotten her wisdom teeth out...

This Troper is deathly afraid of shots. Sewing needles, pssh. Piercing needles? Not a big deal. Even handling hypodermic needles for whatever reason isn't too much. Actually being injected... I had to go into the doctor's this summer to get a meningitis vaccine, which scared me to death but I was braced. "One prick and it's over..." Turns out I was overdue on two others, one of which was a tetanus shot. I started crying and hyperventilating like a little kid; I was so freaked out it wasn't even funny.

This Troper once left a couple front teeth on a street in Berkeley while cycling with a friend. Said friend accompanied me to the UC dental school where the doc intended to perform an emergency root canal on one of my upper incisors. Know how a dentist's chair looks a bit like a W? The anesthetic injection (into the roof of my mouth, with a needle about five inches long) was so painful that I was stretched out in a rigid straight line across the peaks of the W. When the injection was over I glanced over at my friend...who had passed out. (Personally, I discovered that numerous injections of morphine during hospitalization following being hit by a car at age 15 pretty much cured me of any fear of needles (at least, small ones). Needles were my friend.)

This Troper always faints whenever they try to draw blood from anywhere but her finger. Even then, she's fainted a few times.

This troper is fine with needles less than four inches long, but he cannot watch it enter the skin for any reason. The reason? He had to have a particularly long one in his foot during an operation to remove sea urchin spines when he was ten. I'll just say that I screamed so loudly that I'm surprised no one asked who was being murdered in hindsight.

This troper is so afraid of needles, I cried when I had to get my booster shot. When I was in high school, I was on the newspaper staff, and was writing an aftermath story on a blood drive we were having. I'd originally convinced someone else to go get some pictures for me, but they were sick that day, so I had to get them myself. I walked into the gym, and I could feel my knees starting to get weak. I took maybe three pictures before I started feeling sick to my stomach. I ran out as fast as my wobbly legs would carry me and almost hyperventilated from taking so many deep breaths.

This troper, a former EMT, had to take an IV class to learn how to stick people with needles. It was hilarious. Picture a young lady with an IV in her arm, holding hands with an otherwise tough firefighter so he wouldn't faint while classmates stuck needles in his great big awesome veins. Or don't, if needles aren't your thing.

While this troper has gotten better at it (she can cope by looking away when the needle's being inserted), she can still remember vividly an experience she had when she was about 7: After much physical struggling and hysterical screaming, her mother had managed to restrain her for long enough that the needle could be successfully inserted. She looked down at her arm and saw herself bleeding from the puncture point, with the needle still in.

On the same tangent, the same troper found out in her adult age that it's easier to find a vein on her right arm as opposed to her left arm. How did she find out? Blood test. Troper looks away, feels the puncture, looks back, sees nurse wiggling the needle back and forth under her skin, vainly trying to puncture a vein that keeps slipping away from the needle's point.

This troper. Oh boy. Whenever she sees a syringe on a picture or on TV, she's ready to throw up (she had to block the trope's picture with Adblock). The last time she saw a syringe for real, she nearly fainted, even though the shot wasn't for her. Just because doctors mistaked her liver hemangioma for a cancer when she was 3 months old and made her two or three shots a day for nearly two weeks, and her parents were not allowed to see her. Thanks for the psychological trauma, guys.

I have always been afraid of them, but it got worse after one painful shot becuase of my Rheumatic Fever.

Needles scare the shit out of me! I've been afraid of them since I was little. ''And'' I have to get my blood taken because I have high cholesterol. :(

I am so afraid of needles I hid in the bathroom sobbing when they were giving HepB shots at school. I had to get the injection the next day at a regular clinic, though. I think the fear stems from the fact that they euthanize dogs and people via lethal injection and I'm always paranoid that the needle has poison inside instead of medicine. *SHUDDER*

Inverted in that This Troper has to give itself about 4 injections a day because of its diabetes.

Ouch. This troper's dad knows how that feels. :(

Averted with Edgy. He was giggling while getting a tattoo because it tickled.

This troper used to be terrified of doctors' appointments due to her fear of needles.

Somewhat subverted, as she and her mother planned for me to play my Nintendo DS while they administered shots to distract me. And God, does it help. x_x

This trope is why this troper will never get her ears pierced. *trembles in fetal position*

This troper is hypersensitive, so she feels everything more sharply. Everything. Just about nobody will take her or her mother's word for it - she's lost count of the number of times she's gotten "Oh, you'll be fine! Really!" By this point, she automatically tenses up around needles.