Scared of injections, UAE residents would rather skydive!

Who’s afraid of a little pinprick? A lot of us, it turns out. UAE residents are more fearful of having to endure daily injections than they are of heights, spiders, lightning or public speaking, according to a recent nationwide survey.

Asked to rank ten things people are commonly afraid of, respondents listed having injections in third place only behind a fear of snakes and sharks. The survey also revealed that over one-third of respondents said they would rather skydive from a plane if it meant being able to avoid needles every day, with almost a quarter saying they would rather handle a python.

The survey was commissioned by Medtronic, the Ireland-headquartered medical technology company, to coincide with its newly introduced injection aid. More than 1,200 people were polled in the YouGov survey, which was conducted in November. 

Unfortunately, while most people only have to brave the occasional needle throughout their lifetime it’s a different story for the 19 per cent of UAE residents living with diabetes,1 many of whom will be faced with having to inject themselves up to four times per day.

Dr Ghada Aoun from the Boston Diabetes Center said the survey results were not surprising and having to self-inject every day was an ordeal for many people with diabetes. “Taking injections before each meal can be a psychological and physical burden due to the associated pain. It’s quite common for children and adolescents to skip a dose of insulin because they can’t face another injection – and this can obviously have serious health consequences,” Dr. Aoun said.

“Using an injection aid may decrease the risk of future injection problems especially for younger patients and facilitate the use of multiple daily injections, which may contribute to a decreased risk of long-term complications. I would encourage all diabetics who face the burden of multiple daily injections to talk with their healthcare professional to seek advice on alternative solutions” she said.