Talk:Trypanophobia

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[edit] Requested move

The correct name for this phobia is Trypanophobia rather than Aichmophobia Tmbg37 01:06, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Voting

  • Support Tmbg37 01:06, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
  • Support Trypanophobia 01:26, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
    • The move request has been completed. --HappyCamper 18:37, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Hogwash

"In early time periods, genes that predisposed a person to avoid physical injuries such as piercing, stabbing or other skin penetration..."

This statement is absurd on so many levels..

I don't think so. To a certBold textain extent, it makes sense. The gene wold have been toned down as time went on, leaving the fear of needles, or Trypanophobia. - Katami 00:02, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

It does make a certain kind of sense to me, and I tentatively agree with it. However, it's entirely unreferenced, so I'm sticking that section with an {{unreferenced}} tag. I wouldn't be surprised if there are no references to be found anywhere, though, and it has to be taken out. — Saxifrage ✎ 00:59, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Actually, that can be cited. It appears in Hamilton's 1995 research paper on the subject.

-->

"The presence of a genetic trait among a species automatically indicates that the trait must have been selected for during the evolution of that species. The needle phobia trait probably evolved among the human species in response to piercing, stabbing, and cutting injuries.(1) The vast majority of violent deaths in our species' evolutionary history have been caused by skin penetration from teeth, claws, fangs and tusks, and from sticks, stone axes, knives, spears, swords, and arrows. Besides death resulting from direct trauma or hemorrhage, many of these deaths were due to infections secondary to skin penetration. A reflex that promoted the learning of a strong fear of skin puncture had clear selective value in teaching humans to avoid such injuries. Over the 4+ million years of human evolution, surely many genes controlling blood pressure, pulse, cardiac rhythm, and stress hormone release were selected for to create the vasovagal reflex."

         - Needle Phobia: A Neglected Diagnosis James Hamilton, M.D.

[edit] Tryanophobia and the death penalty

Does anyone know if a trypanophobe has ever been executed via lethal injection? If so, who and when? I'm doing a research paper about the constitutionality of lethal injection, so this is an aspect I'd like to cover. Thanks! - Katami 00:03, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

AFAIK the lethal injection is a painful procedure. Any fear of it could be considered completely rational. No trypanophobia involved there. 83.64.17.44 16:29, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is this trypanophobia?

I have a very strong fear of anything cutting or being injected into my veins. Is this trypanopobia? Im certainly not affraid of doctors or hospitals just the things I stated in the first sentence. 'o' Whats a question? 19:27, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Same here. And I just don't like needles, and the ones that are closest say that it was a traumatic experience, but I didn't have any traumatic experience, I just don't like them. What would a doctor call that? Shadowedmist 20:41, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

I have actually been described as having this phobia. I am deathly, horribly afraid of things involving taking out or putting things into my bloodstream. Pencils and pins don't affect me, and I had little anxiety about getting my ears pierced. To be honest, straws frighten me more than knives (which sounds ridiculous, but I cannot tolerate even being teased with the threat of someone poking me with one). Also, having my blood pressure taken even frightens me a bit because I can feel my blood being kept from circulating (or I at least imagine it). This is a phobia in that I will actually begin to panic almost immediately upon imagining receiving an injection. I too have no past traumatic experience. You could talk to your doctor about it, but I'll warn you in my experience most general practice doctors don't really understand how terrifying and disabling it can be (as do most people). Sarrandúin [ Talk + Contribs ] 03:20, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Yes, all three of you definitely have trypanophobia. As do I, as a matter of fact - though mine is associative, resulting from a couple really bad experiences when I was a young child. It's no surprise that general practitioners don't understand this phobia. Psychologists and psychiatrists are much more likely to be knowledgeable about it, so if you seek treatment for it (cognitive behavioral therapy, etc.), get a referral to one of these specialists. (Especially if it is severe enough to prevent you from having blood drawn for routine analysis - this is one of the most important ways to monitor one's health, and shouldn't be avoided because of a phobia.) Fuzzform (talk) 19:43, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Blunt Objects

Strangely enough no matter how often you painfully hit yourself on them you will never develop a special sense of care when dealing with blunt objects. I think the dangers of blunt objects are far underrated. In fact most accidents are caused by blunt objects, most probably due to their harmless appearance. 83.64.17.44 16:56, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Interesting observation; let me elaborate. Blunt objects are not used for the same purposes as sharp objects. The latter objects can cut/impale/etc., whereas blunt objects cannot. Also, think of how common blunt objects are, compared to sharp objects. Sharp objects, in the vast majority of cases, were created by humans to fulfill some type of function - in the case of this article, needles were created to pierce into flesh to inject/remove substances such as drugs/blood (respectively). Likewise, swords/knives/etc. were created to cut things - namely, animal flesh (human or otherwise). Clearly the hypothesis that humans developed a tendency to meticulously avoid sharp objects cannot be considered far-fetched. Such a tendency would be neurological in nature, of course, and would be governed by genetic changes (just like any other body tissue). And... just imagine having a phobia of blunt objects - you'd be in constant fear, since they're everywhere. Yes, they do appear harmless; no matter how many times I stub my toe on the edge of my couch, I never develop any fear of couches. Fuzzform (talk) 19:36, 8 March 2008 (UTC)