Belonephobia: discovering the fear of needles

By Cristiano Antonino On Jan 26, 2023

Belonephobia is the pathological fear of needles, pins and any sharp or pointed object

What is a phobia?

By phobia, in general, we mean a ‘charged and persistent fear that is excessive and irrational, triggered by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation’; in other words, an inexplicable, extreme, disproportionate and persistent fear of certain situations, objects, activities, living creatures (animal or human) or even the mere thought of them; although not representing a real threat in itself, the object of the phobia can trigger real impetuous and dysfunctional behaviour on the part of the sufferer, who thus tends to allow himself to be overwhelmed by terror without any apparent justification.

Probably any of us reading this article will think that it is normal to feel fear at being attacked by someone with a knife or other sharp object, or to be excited by violent scenes in which sharp objects are used; just as it is quite common and ‘normal’ to have a slight fear of objects such as syringes, scalpels or other instruments that we associate with situations in which our health or our lives are in some way to be considered in danger.

All this, in itself, can be considered as a physiological reaction of the organism when faced with a frightening, threatening or dangerous situation.

Belonephobia, what is it?

But there is a specific phobia that makes it unthinkable to even imagine experiencing one of the above-mentioned situations; we are talking about belonephobia (also known as trypanophobia), otherwise known as fear of the needle, which is defined as a persistent, abnormal and unjustified fear of needles and pins and, in major cases, also of scissors, knives and other sharp or cutting objects.

The symptoms of these patients are in most cases represented by severe anxiety and may include fainting, palpitations, tachycardia, increased sweating (especially in the palms of the hands), dizziness, paleness, nausea, and a feeling of dizziness on seeing the needle or other feared objects.

We can also see other problems associated with this phobia as direct consequences, namely haemophobia (fear of blood) and traumatophobia (fear of wounds).

The combination of these phobias makes it very difficult to manage one’s reactions: the fear can become so strong that it terrifies the person to the point of even refusing necessary medical interventions.

The consequences and repercussions on one’s state of health can therefore be very serious.

The negative repercussions can also interact with the health of others.

In fact, belonephobia seems to be the cause most cited by non-donors (60%) as a deterrent to donating blood or blood derivatives

It seems to be a fairly common disorder, as it appears that about 10% of the world’s population suffers from it, although it is not specified to what extent.

It is thought that this phobia may have a genetic cause, as many of those who suffer from it have a relative with the same fear, but this has not been proven to date.

It also appears that men are more affected than women, although women are statistically more phobic than men.

Those suffering from belonephobia may present strong states of anxiety in situations where the objects just mentioned do not represent a real threat

For example, for a belonephobic, having to go to a laboratory to have a blood test can represent an extremely strong anxiety stimulus; or seeing someone handle a knife while cooking can lead to a real anxiety crisis.

In extreme cases, in an attempt to cope with their fear, people with belonephobia avoid handling the feared objects or even eliminate them from the environments they frequent; they try not to be in situations where the risk of coming into contact (even if only visually) with such objects is very high; they avoid analyses, medical examinations, dental visits and so on, just because they are afraid of dealing with needles or sharp, pointed objects.

In the most severe cases, as with all other types of specific phobias, belonephobic persons end up avoiding more and more any environment, context or person, for fear that these may lead them to involuntarily come into more or less direct contact with the object of their fear; this may lead these persons to isolate themselves socially and affectively, limiting their contact with the outside world as much as possible and making it at least difficult for them to go about their normal lives.

Although it appears that this phobia is usually present from a young age, even though the person may report having gone through different stages of the problem, a specific time, for women, when it may suddenly become acute and become dysfunctional for their health, may be pregnancy.

In these cases, women experience great difficulties when it comes to blood tests (which are now provided for monthly by the national health system), in the case of possible invasive prenatal tests (such as amniocentesis or villocentesis) and, finally, in the case of the need to undergo local anaesthesia for childbirth.

Other situations in which the problem can create major difficulties for the individual suffering from it and concern for those around him or her, may be surgical operations (even if planned and not urgent), traffic accidents, simple vaccines, treatments involving the use of syringes or drips, blood glucose sampling in the case of diabetes check-ups, etc.

Precisely with a view to acting before needing a blood sample, Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy can play a central role, helping the person to recognise the problem immediately, thus obtaining a diagnosis as early as possible, and to overcome it within a few weeks thanks to the use of specific techniques.

In fact, precisely because this phobia risks endangering one’s health and jeopardising the possibility of clinical examinations, finding the solution best suited to one’s needs is the first step following diagnosis, and in this, specialists adequately trained in the subject can play a decisive role.

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