Blue Waters Acupuncture Center



Afraid of Needles? Tips and Tools for Overcoming Anxiety from Dr. Michael Carruth

On her first visit to Blue Waters Acupuncture, one woman brought her massage therapist along to hold her hand - literally. They walked through the door arm in arm and remained connected as Dr. Michael Carruth explained how acupuncture works and what she could expect if he treated her frozen shoulder, which showed no sign of improvement after nine months of physical therapy. 

That woman, like one in five people worldwide, was afraid of needles. When that fear is excessive or irrational it’s known as Trypanophobia, a condition that can be learned or inherited. 

In this case, it was a barrier the patient had to surmount in order to get the treatment she so sorely needed.  

Dr. Carruth is used to encountering such anxiety and has a multitude of tools and techniques to help patients deal with it. The first is education. As a former phlebotomist who drew blood from thousands of patients over a period of years, he’s well acquainted with different types of needles. As he explains, the origin of most horror stories about needles involves the hypodermic variety. “Even though they’re both vehicles, is a Volkswagen bug the same as an 18-wheel semi?” he says. “They’re called the same thing, but they couldn’t be more different. The same is true of needles.” 

Two key factors differentiate hypodermics and acupuncture needles. The first is the purpose they’re designed for. “Hypodermics are for cutting,” Carruth explains. “The tip is cut off at an angle, and both the sides and tips are razor sharp. They’re designed to cut through things and contain a tube in the middle.” Filiform acupuncture needles are not intended to inject or extract anything from patients and the only sharp feature is the very tip. They’re also solid rather than hollow. 

The second difference is size. In needle measurement, the larger the number, the smaller the needle. Typically, the hypodermic needles diabetics use for their regular injections are 27 gauge, as small as possible to minimize discomfort. The ones Carruth uses, in contrast, are 32 gauge. “You could take between four to six of my tiny needles, which are like a cat’s whisker, and fit them inside the circumference of that 27gauge insulin needle,” he says. In fact, the word ‘filiform’ means ‘threadlike.’  

He’ll also explain what they can expect once the needles are in. Some might feel nothing, others a dull ache, pressure, or buzzing sensation and still others might experience a reaction in a completely separate part of their body. “Channels run from the toes up into the head,” Carruth notes, “so you might feel something somewhere other than where the needles are placed.” 

As a point of reassurance, he lets patients know that in all but rare cases - and essentially never on the first visit - needles will not go into the face or the stomach. Most will be placed between the elbow and the wrist or hand and the knee and the ankle or foot because that’s where many key meridian points exist. 

Once a patient has agreed to be treated, Carruth offers a few tips for easing the process. Number one, don’t look. “Some people want to see where the needles are, even though they’re afraid,” he says. “I tell them, ‘If I’m having acupuncture, even after treating tens of thousands of patients, I don’t look, and neither should you.’” 

He also encourages people to breathe at the moment each needle goes in. If he’s working in a particularly sensitive area, he’ll ask patients to cough. “The coughing distracts them,” he says. “Most of the time they can’t register a pain signal when they’re distracted. Once it’s in, I’ll let go of the needle and the patient will be done coughing. They’ll ask, ‘Did you put it in yet?’” 

In the next stage of the process, patients are left to their own devices while the treatment goes into effect. For some, that includes heat lamps which Carruth affectionately refers to as Fort Lauderdale and Miami. In case anyone experiences discomfort at any point or simply needs to use the bathroom, every room comes equipped with a call button. 

“It rarely happens, but occasionally someone will fall asleep and their knee will jerk and suddenly, a needle starts to feel uncomfortable,” he says. “Or maybe someone thought the lamps were at the right temperature but now they’ve started to feel like the surface of Mercury. We tell people, ‘Don’t be bashful. Get a hold of us if something is bothering you.” 

Most patients get over their fears within a few visits. The woman with the frozen shoulder never brought her massage therapist after the initial appointment and went on to not only solve the issue in her joint but conquer several other health challenges. “The proof is in the pudding,” says Carruth. “Sometimes, when we don’t understand something we blow it up larger in our mind than it really is. Acupuncture is an option for most people once we get over that idea that all needles are the same.”

By Heidi Smith