Does seeing blood cause you to feel faint or anxious? Perhaps the very thought of having some medical or dental procedures, including blood, makes you feel sick to your stomach. If you are that person, ADC Dubbo’s dental team can help you manage that fear while getting the treatment you need. Though, at times, some individuals may feel uneasy about blood, having extreme fear of blood, known as hemophobia, may cause a severe impact on your life. In fact, this phobia can make the person skip essential doctor appointments. Keep reading to learn about the medical definition of hemophobia, including the different treatment options to address your fear.

Medical Definition of Hemophobia

Hemophobia is an extreme and persistent fear of blood. It is categorized as a part of the sub-type blood injury injection phobia. People with blood phobia dread the sight of their own blood, someone else’s blood, or an animal’s blood, and at times, images of blood or even thoughts of blood. The fear may happen because the blood might help them remember their own weakness to injury and the possibility of death.

Blood Phobia Symptoms

All kinds of phobias share comparative physical and emotional indications. With hemophobia, symptoms may occur by seeing blood in real life or on television. In fact, fear of blood and needles usually come together, like when you think to visit your dentist if you experience some discomfort. Others may feel symptoms after thinking about blood or specific medical procedures, like a blood test.

In any case, common symptoms of blood injury phobia or blood phobia may include:

• rapid heart rate
• trembling or shaking
• trouble breathing
• hot or cold flashes
• lightheadedness
• tightness or pain in the chest
• feeling nauseated around blood or injury
• sweating

Emotional symptoms might include:

• feeling powerless over your fear
• detachment from self or feeling unreal
• feeling like you have lost control
• an overwhelming need to get away from circumstances where blood is involved
• extreme feelings of anxiety or panic
• feeling like you may die or pass out

Furthermore, hemophobia can also be related to blood injection, injury phobia, blood injury, illness phobia, or needle phobia. In fact, these phobias produce what is known as a vasovagal response. This implies you have a sudden drop in your heart rate and blood pressure whenever there is a triggering factor.

In Children

Young children encounter symptoms of phobia in many different ways. You can check out this link for more info. In any case, youngsters with hemophobia may:

• cry
• have tantrums
• hide
• become clingy
• refuse to leave their guardian’s side around blood or circumstances where blood could be present

Risk Factors

Specific phobias usually first emerge in childhood, between the ages of 10 and 13. Like other phobias, blood phobia may happen in combination with other psychoneurotic disorders, for example, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, agoraphobia, and animal phobias.

Additional factors incorporate:

Genetics. Some individuals are bound to foster phobias than others. There might be a hereditary connection, or you might be especially sensitive or emotional by nature.

Overprotective guardian or parent. Some individuals might establish more generalized anxiety. This might come about because of being in an environment where you were excessively dependent on an overprotective parent.

Anxious parent. A person may learn to fear something after seeing fear designed. For instance, if a kid sees their mom is fearful of blood, they might have fear around blood.

Traumatic events. An unfortunate event, such as an accident or physical injury, may lead to a phobia. In fact, even anxiety caused by a dental visit may also lead to a phobia. However, blood phobia or blood injury phobia might usually be identified with hospital stays or severe injuries, including blood.

Treatment Options

Treating some phobias is not generally crucial, particularly if the specific phobia does not affect daily life. However, the case is different if you have hemophobia. This is because this irrational fear may make you skip a doctor’s appointment, medical treatment, or other procedures. Hence, getting treatment for this phobia is essential to your overall health and well-being.

Exposure Therapy

This approach will expose you to your fears, including visualization exercises or managing your fear of blood head-on. Sometimes, exposure therapy may blend these approaches.

Cognitive Therapy

This treatment may help you distinguish feelings of anxiety around blood. The thought is to change the stress with more reasonable ideas of what may occur during tests or traumas, including blood.

Relaxation

Deep breathing exercises, yoga, and other relaxation techniques may help to manage phobias. In fact, participating in this approach can help reduce your stress and ease some symptoms.

Applied Tension

Applied tension is an approach that might help with the fainting impacts of hemophobia. This treatment will tense the legs, torso, and arms muscles for timed intervals until your face becomes red when exposed to triggering factors.

Medication

In extreme cases, taking medications might be essential. Nevertheless, it is not typically a proper treatment for specific phobias. Though it is one of the options to talk with your doctor, more research about this is necessary.

Conclusion

It is crucial to speak with your doctor about your fear of blood, particularly if it is starting to influence your daily life. Looking for help as soon as possible might make treatment simpler over the long haul.

In addition, facing your own fears may likewise help keep your child from having the same fear. Indeed, there is a hereditary component to phobia, and this can also be learned from others. However, with suitable treatment, you can be on your way to a healthy recovery. You can visit BondiBeachdental.com.au if you need more help.

References:

Symptoms and Treatment for the Fear of Blood.

https://www.verywellmind.com/fear-of-blood-hemophobia-causes-and-symptoms-2671861

Medical Definition of Vasovagal reaction.

https://www.medicinenet.com/vasovagal_reaction/definition.htm

Six relaxation techniques to reduce stress.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/six-relaxation-techniques-to-reduce-stress