LONDON, ON , June 28- The dreaded needle-based appointments can be a thing of the past! Needle Buddies® is a syringe clip on that disguises the scary needle and syringe.
Created by a Canadian mother-daughter/healthcare worker team with experience with needle anxiety both professionally and personally.
Children can customize their Needle Buddy by decorating the needle cover with their favourite sticker or one of the “hero” stickers included with the product. The needle cover moves up during the injection and is removed after the injection to go home with the child as a heroic badge.
Seeing the scary needle and fear of pain are the two things that make children anxious during injections. Using a Needle Buddy® along with a skin-numbing product, such as an ice pack or numbing cream, goes a long way in combating needle-based fear and anxiety before it begins.
- Prepare your child ahead of time for the appointment with play and books.
- Instead of telling them it won’t hurt, let them know it may pinch a bit, but it is over quick.
- Give the child some control
- what position they’d like to sit in
- which arm
- what toy they would like to bring
- what colour of ice pack
- what sticker for their Needle Buddy®, etc.
The product is very easy for healthcare professionals to use as the Needle Buddy® snaps onto the prepared syringe, accommodates safety needles and allows for easy landmarking and viewing the injection. A must have for every clinic with pediatric patients.
More than 25% of adults suffer from needle anxiety and it is now being attributed to childhood immunizations. Over 71% of adults who do not get immunizations state it is from fear of needles. Not getting inoculated costs the economy over 7 billion per year in lost time and health care costs.
Studies indicate that 90% of 14- to 18-month-olds and 45% of 4 to 6-year-olds demonstrate severe distress during vaccinations. These ages are a crucial time to address injection fears to prevent a lasting fear of needles.
Although initially created for young patients, adults have been using it as well!
Retail packages are available for parents to purchase on both Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. Bulk purchases for pediatric centres can also be arranged.
