Why would some injections be much more painful than others?

[Locut0s]

I used to be deathly afraid of injections. I posted in my "life threatening incidents" thread about recieving a really painful series of injections as a child. These inections caused me to become really really phobic about needles. I can remember being dragged to the hospital kicking and screaming at the age of 11 or 12 to get a measels vacine. I ended up throwing up becuase of the fear and never got that shot. Several years ago I cut myself seriously at work and had to have stiches and a tetnus shot. Somehow at that point I just entirely lost my fear of needles. Maybe it was because I could tell I needed stiches and I just realized that I might as well get it over with. The anesthetic he injected directly into my thumb hurt a lot more than the tetanus shot (which I didn't feel at all). But I don't think anything hurt as much as the shots I received back in China for that ear infection. What could have made these shots so painful!? This was China of the 80s so hygiene was not the best but that wouldn't have made it worse. This would have been some type of antibiotic shot.

 

[Colt45]

Volume?

The guns are kinda scary looking though. They still use them?

 

[FoBoT]

try a yellow fever vaccination

 

[Ika]

larger

 

[dfuze]

Part of it depends on where it's injected, like if it goes right into the muscle.

 

[Hacp]

Also it depends on the needle. If the needle is longer in diameter, it will hurt more.

 

[TruePaige]

Also it depends on what is injected. Some things burn for example.

 

[Modelworks]

Location, size of needle, sharpness of needle (different companies are sharper than others), experience of person doing it.

Whenever I have blood taken I try to get the nurses that do pediatrics, they are so good at doing it without it hurting.


Forgot to include, angle of the needle as it is being used has a lot to do with it too.

 

[Freshgeardude]

I used to hate getting shots and stuff. when I was 13 or 14, i once needed to give blood for some test. They had two people, including my mom, a stress ball, and a baby needle just to get it in me. nowadays, it doesnt really bother me. yea it sucks, the worst is not the actual needle, its when they inject you and your veins or w/e have to open big enough to allow the liquid to go in.


i donate blood like 2 months ago and the needle they used was HUGE in diameter and it hurt when it went in, but that was really it, not much of a problem

there is a pic. its pretty big

 

[Locut0s]

try a yellow fever vaccination

?? Story? Really painful?

I recently got vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B before a recent vacation in China. Didn't feel very much at all for the 3 shots. Feels good to be immune!! I think I might get some more vaccinations before doing more travelling in the future. Perhaps against typhoid and meningitis, probably won't get the swine-flu shot. Ironic that I should now be happy to get a shot.

 

[wischeez]

try a yellow fever vaccination

or cholera shots

 

[Locut0s]

Volume?

The guns are kinda scary looking though. They still use them?

<pic>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_injector

Huh looks like they were actually invented to reduce the pain of needle injections. They use high pressure to force the injection under the skin (sounds MORE painful to me). Yup still in use it seems.

 

[Locut0s]

or cholera shots

Also bad?

 

[El Guaraguao]

try the AIDS shot.

 

[zerocool84]

I've gave blood, gotten IV's, flu shots, and everything else and always been fine but when they injected pain killer into the back of my hand right into the wound when I sliced it open, I got light headed and turned pale. It's obviously all in the mind.

 

[Squisher]

My parents used to tell a story of me smacking the metal and glass syringe (circa 1960) out of my doctor's hand and it sticking in the floor at the doctor's office. The doc was a golfing buddy of my dad's and gave my dad a dirty look.

 

[Locut0s]

My parents used to tell a story of me smacking the metal and glass syringe (circa 1960) out of my doctor's hand and it sticking in the floor at the doctor's office. The doc was a golfing buddy of my dad's and gave my dad a dirty look.

Did he use it on you afterwards?

 

[BoomerD]

try the AIDS shot.

You get that one in the ass...




I went through the mass injection regime when I enlisted in 1970. Yes, they used something very similar to the air gun in the above post. Most of the new recruits were sick for a day or two.(didn't slow the DI's down)

I get epidural injections about every 3 months. Large doses of corticosteroids into the low back. It always feels like he uses a 6" long needle, even though it's only about 3".
MOST of the time they're not all that painful, just the needle stick, but once in a while, he'll brush a nerve, or inject into a painful part and those hurt like a motherfucker. (he rubbed against a nerve one time and my leg started shaking like crazy...I couldn't control it )

 

[MedicBob]

Gamma Globulin shot. Never a good thing when they hand you the vial and tell you to warm it up. Second clue would be when asked if you want it in one cheek or both.

 

[waggy]

i had a bone scan where i had to get a shot first. The needle comes in a big mettle canaister and it has caution danger stickers on it. the guy pulls out a big needle says he is going to inject you with this stuff.

yeah good idea. something that has caution stickers on it and nuclear symbol on it and they want to put that in me? yeah sounds safe.

the fist time was scary (have had 2 bone scans).

the most painfull was having a cortazone shot into the my shoulder joint. My 6 yr old (at the time) was with me so and i didnt want her scared of shots so i smiled at her the whole time even though it really hurt.

 

[Nik]

size of needle, place of insertion, contents of syringe, and herpaids.

 

[wwswimming]

my favorite is the Ligmaject. that's what the dentist uses if normal dental anaesthesia doesn't work, for example in a case of accessory innervation, which was explained to me as ... you got extra nerves that aren't being reached by the normal injection.

http://www.henkesasswolf.de/hswligmaject1/?L=1

the Ligmaject is a gun-shape that holds an ampule of something-caine. it's injected at the base of the tooth. the dentist pushes with a force of about 30-40 pounds to get this tiny needle to pierce through the soft tissue. when you look at the size of the needle and calculate the PSI, it's around 40,000 psi.

the one time i had that injection, i was praying, "don't let that thing break !"

one of the ampules did break. something-caine splattered all over the place.

definitely the most memorable injection i ever had.

 

[bobross419]

The "peanut butter" shot they give you in boot camp isn't very pleasant... right into your buttcheek. It messed up your butt muscle so bad that the day after we got it was the only day the DI's woke us up 'gently'.