Vaccines can be delivered through the skin using ultrasound. This method doesn’t damage the skin and eliminates the need for painful needles. To create a needle-free vaccine, Darcy Dunn-Lawless at the University of Oxford and his colleagues mixed vaccine molecules with tiny, cup-shaped proteins. They then applied liquid mixture to the skin of mice and exposed it to ultrasound – like that used for sonograms – for about a minute and a half.

    • FarFarAway@startrek.website
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      As interesting as that would be to happen, in reality, there’s just going to be a bunch more people going without pre natal care.

  • Starkstruck@lemmy.world
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    While this is awesome, I can already imagine anti-vaxxers are now deathly afraid of ultrasounds lol

    • coffeebiscuit@lemmy.world
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      Brace yourselves! Vaccination with sound conspiracies coming in!

      “The IRS called, they vaccinated me trough my phone in my ear!!?”

      “Mass vaccinations trough radio!!?”

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          Ya see that one where someone’s landlord went loopy and cut power to their building because he’d consumed a bunch of conspiracy nut stuff?

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            I didn’t but I’m not surprised. I feel like this mystical thinking is rooted in our acceptance of religion to some extent.

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          I know you are joking, but I suspect that many people would swallow this idea while without any thought whatsoever.

          Yes, we live in an age of uncritical thought.

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      They were already terrified of phone signals.

      Only fast ones though. Slower ones can’t penetrate the skin.

      • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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        Hilariously enough, it’s closer to the other way 'round. Higher frequencies means more bandwidth but they can be blocked easier. Lower frequencies can go farther before being attenuated too much.

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          One of my friend’s friends has a PhD in psychology, but she thinks that nuclear radiation has healing properties and told me to move out of NYC because there was too much 5G everywhere. She still uses a smartphone though, just on a selfie stick on speakerphone 🤣 She also told me that she was afraid of the radio in her car because of the radio waves.

          • 0000011110110111i@lemm.ee
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            She thinks that nuclear radiation has healing properties

            In a way she’s actually not wrong. That’s what radiotherapy is. Focused nuclear radiation to heal cancer.

            • pete_the_cat@lemmy.world
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              She doesn’t have cancer though, she’s perfectly healthy and is an “alternative medicine practitioner”. She said she sleeps with a piece of thorium under her pillow.

              Regardless of it being used for cancer treatment, nuclear radiation isn’t good for the body in any way. Various forms of radiation (not just nuclear) are harmful, like getting too much sun.

                • pete_the_cat@lemmy.world
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                  I’m convinced that she’s just nuts. My friend, who is her friend (how I met this woman), told me that the woman has started “Urine Therapy” and I just said “Jesus fucking Christ… I… I just have nothing to say” because I didn’t wanna get into a debate with him about it.

    • Syndic@feddit.de
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      Wanna bet that they will somehow combine this with 5G conspiracies?

      “It’s all just a wave after all!!!” /s

    • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
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      Idk, anti vaxxers aren’t afraid of needles/syringes as far as I understand. They don’t want that kind of substance to be put inside their body, regardless of the method of administration

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        It’s too bad we can’t put vaccines in cum. We’d either have nearly 100% vaccine rates or the antivaxxers would quickly die out.

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        I mean, yes, but a lot of them also think it’s a conspiracy where world leaders are trying to vaccinate everyone because ??? Those types will start avoiding ultrasound to not get tricked into getting vaccinated.

        • pete_the_cat@lemmy.world
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          The best part is “depopulation by helping people stay healthy” e.g. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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    I think that’s the basic premise of the Star Trek hypospray. Pressure pushing in medicine rather than a needle.

      • [email protected]@sh.itjust.works
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        My favorite anecdote, though not necessarily mine, about jet inoculation comes from the army. They had long lines of men to immunize and little time to do it. Walk up, hold still, hear the click, feel the water pierce you, walk away sore. However, if anyone moved even slightly during the process, the needle of water becomes a knife, slicing their shoulder open. It was not a well thought out mechanism.

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        It takes my kid half an hour of screaming and throwing a public fit just to get within two miles of a needle, so I’ll take it.

        • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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          Fwiw, my kid who was like that still hates needles, she just has better ways of coping now. The other kid likes to watch it go in, doesn’t bother her a bit.

          Both get an ice cream cone on the way home.

          Of course being clenched up with fear makes it more painful too, so at some point not in the middle of the screaming, make sure they know to try to relax that arm muscle even if the rest of their body is rigid with fear. And to remember it’s going to take maybe 10 seconds so don’t pull away. (It will take less, but kids count fast)

          It’s too bad we can’t let them do it themselves, it might make it easier.

          • wmassingham@lemmy.world
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            Also tell the person administering it to do it slowly. In my experience, most of the pain was from them doing it too fast. Something about the fluid stretching the muscle in painful ways before it can spread out, or something.

            • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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              That tracks with my experience. I’m shot-tolerant, so I have the calmness to observe. Of course, some are also just inherently more irritating/painful than others, and there’s different volumes of liquid as well.

              For instance, if you’re shot-averse, get Pfizer Covid rather than Moderna Covid. It’s ⅓ of the size/dose.

      • M500@lemmy.ml
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        Also consider the people who have needle phobias. My heart starts to race before getting a vaccine. If I have to give a blood sample I will faint.

        I’m getting woozy talking about this.

        • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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          That’s weird. My heartrate and blood pressure go down before getting a shot.

          Then I go down, and feel like death for a day and like I’m in rehab for a week.

          Funny thing, I’m not really getting woozy talking about it (a little, but more sympathetic memory of it).

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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      Since vaginal ultrasound is how they detect a “fetal heartbeat” at 6 weeks (the heart isn’t yet formed or pushing any blood, but there’s an electronic pulse) at which point abortion is illegal in many states, that might be a good thing.

      Although, as ultrasound is also how my overdue fetus was diagnosed with the umbilical cord wrapped 3x around the neck, leading to a quick C-section and healthy baby, I would rather keep the ultrasound machines and lose the lunatics.

      • ugh@lemm.ee
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        They don’t care about women who are considering abortion. I’d be more worried that they’d implement a less reliable test.

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        at which point abortion is illegal in many states, that might be a good thing.

        It’s about 3 months here (Swiss). I think that is when neuronal tissue forms?

    • The Barto@sh.itjust.works
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      The ultrasound waves are how they activate the 5g tracking chips, it’s all in their plan I got from this website I found on page 68 of Google.

    • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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      I was gonna say oh now they are gonna say that’s what the 5g towers are REALLY for 🙄🙄🙄

      • Ultraviolet@lemmy.world
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        At this point if it was possible to orchestrate some massive conspiracy to vaccinate people en masse, we should just do that. They’ll shout about it either way, but this way they’ll at least be vaccinated

        • turmacar@lemmy.world
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          This is basically the fluoride ‘debate’.

          (Yes, fluoridating the water supply is good.)

          • RickyRigatoni@lemmy.ml
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            Also, if you are injesting enough flouride to cause health issues when you brush your teeth, you are brushing horrifically wrong.

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            I specifically remember my bio mom ranting about how we all would have telekinetic powers if not for the fluoride in the water. She believed that was the ‘real’ reason the government did it.

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      That was my first thought the flat earthers and mud flood people are going to have a field day with this!

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      No joke. The first thing that popped into my mind when reading the title was: “great, now my father will be afraid to do an ultrasound test”

    • AlternateMrPapaya@lemmy.world
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      Finally? They were used back in the 1970s. There were issues with them getting contaminated during use, so disposable needles became the norm.

  • sndmn@lemmy.ca
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    I should patent a long range dart gun for vaccinating morons.

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    History proves we do the cheapest, easiest, and fastest. So allow me to shit all over this idea…

    • This is slow at 1.5 mins vs a needle takes about 5 secs.
    • Takes skill to operate an ultrasound machine and probably training to get a consistent dose vs pull needle to this line and jab in arm to know you got it all in there.
    • Every Rite Aid and CVS would need an ultrasound machine vs here are these cheap disposable needles that require no power or maintenance.

    Sure they might develop it faster or make a new more portable thing. But that’s going to take a long long time when no one gives a shit to invest money in a new thing when needles work.

    • Mereo@lemmy.ca
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      As with all new inventions/procedures, this is just the first step. The process will become faster and more efficient in the future.

      In my opinion, this is a great first step towards a Star Trek-like hypospray.

    • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      No one is suggesting this be put in practice in its current form, that would be insane. That said, this is a good first step for alternative forms of vaccination. “First step” being the important part.

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
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      Might be useful for those people whose blood doesn’t clot. Though I don’t know if a small syringe needle is even an issue for them anyway

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      A machine that produces ultrasonic waves is not that complex. It’s the sensors and qualified technician to read and capture the scans that’s expensive.

      Plus have you ever had to physically restrain your child through a needle shot? You said “easiest” and that shit ain’t easy.

      • SacralPlexus@lemmy.world
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        You seem to be the only commenter here who recognizes that this would be amazing for pediatric patients - who coincidentally receive way more vaccines than adults.

    • Neato@kbin.social
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      • 1.5min really isn’t that long compared to the procedures just to process insurance, identity, etc. Retrieving needles, etc. This only needs the topical vaccine, an ultrasound machine, and a wipe for the machine.
      • When this goes mainstream it’ll be a little device with cutout so you can apply it flawlessly to the upper arm. Ultrasounds need training to get readable data, but probably a LOT less just to apply ultrasound to an area.
      • Needles will still be king anywhere in the developing world. It’ll be more expensive initially, but with the mass production the price will go down. And there will be small cost savings to not having to deal with sharps and biohazards as often.
    • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
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      I heard an ad for people scared of dentists - they were offering to put people under.

      [More] dangerous and expensive, but better than skipping it altogether.

      Gotta be a market for hyper-hypodermic-phobic folks. Even if you & I stick with the five second jab.

      • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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        There’s more to full sedation than just “scared of dentists”, but it’s a start. Anyone who needs substantial work can get it done in 1 day on full sedation instead of a dozen shorter sessions. yes, “needs substantial work” often relates to “scares of dentists” (or relates to “was too damn poor for dentists”)

        And I’m with you on hyper-hypodermic-phobia thing. People don’t realize that “fear of needles” does not manifest as a phobia, but as an acute body response. Getting a shot ruins me for a week, and often involves a doctor’s time because my vasovagal symptoms tend to need a little more expert observation. About 1/3 of the time I stop breathing for a short time. I’ve never needed life-saving measures, but they need to make sure that’s the case (lol).

        So for doctor’s offices, it could easily become savings for them because of people who have responses to needles.

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      I’d like to be an optimist when it comes to things like this, some people really really can’t stand needles and something like this would be great for them people. I hope it develops further.

    • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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      I think it depends. I went to an ER once that threw me into a wheelchair when the world was spinning post-blood-draw and dropped me off in the hall saying “You’ll be fine!”. That hospital will never get an Ultrasound injector.

      When I got my first COVID vax, however, I took up 20 minutes of the time of 2 on-call doctors and a nurse because my passing out often resembles a seizure. And then I took up one of their very few “just in case” beds for close to 90 minutes. Someone else with a problem with needles waiting for a vax had to wait for the bed to open up. They’d have killed to have said ultrasound injector for people like me.

  • Joshua Hershey@lemm.ee
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    We are one step closer to hypo sprays from Star Trek. I don’t like needles so this will be really neat to see in mass adoption.

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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      Hyposprays already were invented, mass produced, used as standard in the military for several years, and abandoned because they weren’t as hygienic as needles.

      Anything that pushes through the skin into the blood pushes pathogens in too. Statistically, needles were safer so hyposprays were abandoned.

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        Presumably the version they use in Star Trek avoids that problem somehow, so it’s still a thing that would need to be invented.

        • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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          The doctors are constantly jabbing people one right after another and often through the uniform…I’d love to see the explanation in universe for that

          • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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            Medicine is improved so everyone has super immunity in the future. So it’s not that the hypo isn’t pushing dirt into their veins, it’s that they don’t care.

    • Noerttipertti@sopuli.xyz
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      Miniatyrize ultrasound part, make it communicare with those glucose sensors that are placed on shoulder, make it portable enough and Presto! Artificial pancreas.

    • AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works
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      I’m dumb…what does being diabetic have to do with inability to get needle vaccines? I’m seriously asking.

      • Dadbod89@lemmy.world
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        There’s type 1 and 2 diabetes. I believe type 2 requires you to regularly prick your fingers to test your blood sugar levels several times a day while type 1 requires mandatory insulin shots into your stomach a few times a day. Basically a diabetic fuckin hates needles for good reason and to be able to do that with ultrasound would be rad.

      • MrShankles@reddthat.com
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        It could be that if vaccines can be attached to a “cup-like protein” and given through the skin, than maybe insulin could too. Just less needle sticks overall

      • wolo@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        The pancreas is an organ which produces a hormone called insulin, which regulates the intake of sugar from the blood.

        In type 1 diabetics, the pancreas has been damaged by an autoimmune reaction, so they need to monitor their blood sugar and administer insulin to the blood using external equipment.

        This can be done manually with a needle and glucose tester for measuring blood sugar, and a syringe for administering insulin, or an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, which adhere to the skin and have continuous access to the blood through a cannula.

        Being able to administer insulin without a needle or cannula would eliminate a common point of failure in this system. The cannula of an insulin pump can easily become dislodged from the skin when disturbed and leak insulin onto the surface, resulting in high blood sugar and wasted insulin.

        • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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          I’m sure there are some people that would help, but I went from blood draws making me nearly pass out to self injecting meth(otrexate) once a week after my RA diagnosis.

          • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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            A blood draw ruins my week (not exaggerated). If I were diagnosed with diabetes I would end up dead. For me, anything that avoids a needle is worth it.

            • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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              Exactly. For you it’d likely be worth it. For people like me it’d be a waste - the answer was to nut up. I also require hour-long transfusions every two months. I’m not sure they could do anything but maybe put you under anesthesia for something like that.

              • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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                Yeah, I really can’t imagine. My wife (who works in the medical field) tried to help me “get used to” needles and I didn’t make a single lick of progress. With my kind of issue, it’s common that the issue gets worse and not better if you get shots more often. Something about my subconscious forming a feedback loop with my reactions to create worse reactions over time. I didn’t stop breathing from shots when the symptoms started when I was 8 or 9, just got dizzy/lightheaded and passed out.

                • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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                  That sounds insanely distressing. I won’t recount my bad experiences. None of them were harmful, but some nurses aren’t as gentle as others.

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    Sitting for a minute and a half, not including prep and cleanup, or just getting stabbed a little. shrug

    Edit: To save the next half dozen people exclaiming “needles!” the trouble. I would refine my point to, “great to have the option but I imagine it as being more of a fallback than the beginning of a new era”.

    • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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      For people like me who go down for a half hour and feel like a train wreck for 8 hours when they get stabbed a little, I’ll take a 1.5min one.

      If you told me I needed to run on a treadmill for an hour while the ultrasound worked, I’d STILL take it over getting stabbed a little.

      • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.uk
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        If humans weren’t meant to stabbed then we wouldn’t be so soft and penetrable.

        I do take your point though.

        • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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          Lol, it’s true. But if we were meant to be stabbed we wouldn’t have a completely unique dangerous (occasionally it kills people) reaction to it that doesn’t resemble most phobias.

        • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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          Happens for blood draws as well, even small quantities. Happens if someone pokes me with a lidocaine. It’s a vasovagal reaction where my body “overreacts to certain triggers”. My blood pressure and heartrate plummet (to scary low levels. I’ve freaked out nurses on a couple of occasions). It causes me to feint in a comically dramatic way because the bloodflow to my brain gets too low. To be even more fun, I sometimes exhibit false “seizure” symptoms when I’m down, tightening up all my muscles at once and stopping breathing. During my first COVID vaccine, my breathing stopped for almost a minute, which is why 2 doctors were overseeing me when I came to. My wife explaining the situation is the only reason I didn’t end up in an ambulance. You shoulda seen the nurse, she looked as pale as I did!

          In theory, this could kill me, and there are confirmed ultra-rare cases of people dying from vasovagal syncope. In practice, I’m far more likely to die of a car accident on the way home (with my wife driving me because I’m in no state to drive after that). So long as a competent medical professional is watching me, I’m basically completely safe. But absolutely miserable.

          Honestly, it makes me feel like I’m some kind of drama queen. But it’s entirely made up of unconscious responses in my body.

          And the weird thing is that it’s not thinking about needles. It’s my body’s reaction to the feeling of a needle entering it. That sad little “prick” feeling that is maybe a 1 out of 10 on the pain scale? I have no idea if it’s “trickable” because I have absolutely no problem digging out a splinter with a knife. I keep wanting to find out if getting a tattoo would trigger that reaction or not. I just want to get a tattoo anyway lol.

          • Zink@programming.dev
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            1 year ago

            That sure sounds annoying. I hope being able to plan ahead for the occasional jab makes it not much of a real issue in your life.

            Does it happen for accidental/“natural” pokes? You mentioned the splinter thing, but if you had a thorn, cactus needle, or even a piece of glass stuck in your skin and pulled it out, would you do alright?

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              I hope being able to plan ahead for the occasional jab makes it not much of a real issue in your life.

              Basically that. I schedule a day off if I need a jab for any reason, and work from home anyway when I’m miserable the next several days.

              Does it happen for accidental/“natural” pokes? You mentioned the splinter thing, but if you had a thorn, cactus needle, or even a piece of glass stuck in your skin and pulled it out, would you do alright?

              All of those are fine. And unlike a lot of people with my issue, blood doesn’t bother me in the least. Once in a great while I’ve gotten a mild version of that from an insect bite, but the feeling is just completely different.

              Oddly, I think if a needle hurt more and did some tearing, it wouldn’t bother me so much.

              But you’re asking some really thought-provoking questions. I have a lot of food-related texture issues and while this is COMPLETELY different, I’m suddenly wondering if it’s a little more similar than I thought. I do believe there’s a psychological component to it; I haven’t been able to test, but if I were surprised with a needle jab outside of a medical setting, I have no idea if it would happen to me or not.

              What I did discover is that my blood pressure doesn’t rise and my heartbeat doesn’t go up in “prep”. I don’t seem to have a stress-rise effect for it to be stress-plummet related. I’m not asking anyone to surprise me with a shot, but I really do wonder what would happen.

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for the medical conditions of some of my family and friends. It sucks, and makes me hate doctors, but it won’t kill me.

              I mean, I’d take this over diabetes and/or asthma shrug

          • BluesF@feddit.uk
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            1 year ago

            Huh, I have never heard of such a thing! Sounds very annoying to say the least

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              It fucking sucks, more because a lot of providers don’t (or didn’t. They’ve been getting better) take seriously. They’d treat you like a baby or a hypochondriac, right up until you scare them half to death by WHAT YOU SAID WOULD HAPPEN happening.

              The stopping-breathing thing is super-rare, so even people expecting that “complely calm-seeming patient” pass-out are shocked when that same unconscious patient starts holding their breath and shaking.

            • abraxas@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              … genuinely I’ve never been offered (even had to google EMLA)

              But now that you mention it, I’ve never had this particular issue from novicaine at the dentist. And they always use a topical.

              Next time I need a shot/blood, I’ll see if they’re willing to try that! Since it really does seem to be about the poke itself, something that changes the feeling might be exactly what works.

              • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Just source it yourself, it’s over the counter in the UK and unlikely to be difficult elsewhere. Apply thirty mins beforehand with the patch over, make sure you put it where the injection will go of course… remove when ready, wipe the cream away and voila, no feeling. The dentist uses a spray anaesthetic before needles; despite my phobia, I don’t really mind gum injections, very weird.

    • Ultraviolet@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Needle phobias are extremely common, and the thing about phobias is that you’re fully aware that the fear isn’t coming from a rational place, which is part of what makes them so frustrating to deal with.

      • Emerald@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        the thing about phobias is that you’re fully aware that the fear isn’t coming from a rational place

        Lol yeah when I get vaccinated the anxiety fully fades the moment the needle enters my arm.

    • DBT@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’ll take it over having a sore arm for a day or two.

      Getting a shot isn’t a big deal, but neither is sitting for five minutes.

    • mechoman444@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s not just the time we’ve saved here. Think of people on insulin that have to take shots multiple times a day.

      The medical implications of this are massive it is absolutely a game changer.

      If it ever comes into fruition.

      • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        We’ll have to wait and see how this impacts anything that needs to be injected deeper than skin level, which is why the focus is on vaccines.

    • ItsMeSpez@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s certainly less time effective if administering vaccines to large populations at once, but the increased antibody generation could absolutely make it worth it. Don’t know much about these things, but could mean the difference between two jabs and one 1.5 minute appointment.

    • Nathanator@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Maybe one way of looking at it might be : this would be safe enough you could trust people to self-administer, and you could therefore take the professional with the needle out of the equation.

      90 seconds of one person’s time has got to be better than the quick jab by two people, no?

      • Ech@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I don’t think any amount of de-specializing would be enough to trust the ignorant and/or malicious masses could or would self-administer adequately.

        • Nathanator@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          You’re right. Can’t just post them to folks and expect 100% uptake. It might widen the possibilities of more people getting more vaccines, though. In my books, this can only be a good thing.

      • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        Depending on how specific the injection needs to be, there are a number of scenarios in which people can self-administer injections. So, ignoring people who physically can’t self-administer, it isn’t that dramatic a change.

        I can’t help but feel that the professional would be even more necessary to administer this correctly and not just waste a treatment/dose doing it wrong, whilst under the illusion that you did it right. Along with the specialised equipment needed for it in the first place. Needles and doses at least are pretty easily self-contained and if it is suitable for self application just “pointy end goes in fat bit of you”.

        Naturally it’s early days, so it’ll be fascinating to see how this develops.

        • Nathanator@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I agree! Auto injectors aren’t cheap compared to ye olde trusty ampule and syringe, and this might push the costs towards the higher end again. I can see a kids-and-the-latex-allergic edge case scenario.

          Can’t wait to see what develops 😄