Line #157 Main/AfraidOfNeedles


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10	[[quoteright:300:[[Anime/DragonBallZ https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_needleshy.png]]]]
11	[[caption-width-right:300:"GET ME OUTTA HERE! Please, I'd much rather be sick than get a needle!"]]
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16
17	->''"I made my bed, I fed the cat. I cleaned my room, imagine that. No matter what I do or say, I still got to go to the doctor today....and I gotta get a shot! (No! No! No!) I gotta get a shot! (No! No! No!) Call it vaccination, immunization, inoculation...I gotta get a shot."''
18	-->-- '''Music/JudyPancoast''', "Gotta Get a Shot"
19
20	You're tough. Tougher than tough. You're MadeOfIron! What's more, nothing, and we mean ''nothing'' can surprise you or unsettle your [[TheStoic Stoic]] countenance. Except for injections, that is. Those make you [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl scream like a little girl]] and [[CowerPower hide behind]] your {{love interest}}. Trypanophobia, the fear of injections and hypodermic needles, is a recognized disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the psychiatrist's bible) which is estimated to afflict up to 10% of adults.
21
22	For some reason, the FatalFlaw of many a hero is fear of hypodermic needles and antiseptics. [[NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight Not knives]], [[{{BFG}} not absurdly large guns]], not even ''[[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes snakes]]''! There's just something deliciously ironic about a {{Big Damn Hero\|es}} who routinely gets cut up with [[{{BFS}} huge knives]], [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat to]] within an inch of their life and without giving up, becoming squirmy and panicky when their {{Love Interest\|s}} comes over with a simple syringe and [[AfterActionPatchup sanitary cotton to clean their wounds]]. It seems most any non-battle pain can cripple this person. It's certainly a "clever" way to make a BadassLongcoat less OP and is a very humanizing flaw to have. In extreme cases, expect fainting -- even if the needle isn't going into ''him''!
23
24	Even the FearlessFool can fear needles.
25
26	This can help make the pain of the fight more recognizable. Few viewers will have been riddled with bullets or been hit by a speeding motorcycle, but most will have had antiseptic rubbed on a wound or a bandage removed, and know how much '''that''' hurt.
27
28	This is a common enough fear among many people and a particularly fun example of TruthInTelevision. It may be related to the fact that while combat injuries and the resulting pain are usually suppressed by adrenaline, the pain that comes along with tearing off bandages or putting peroxide into wounds is not. There is also how things like papercuts or [[AgonyOfTheFeet anything involving feet injury]] can be more painful than an injection, but regularly won't make people flinch due to being unexpected, unlike being injected where people expect it.
29
30	Mind you, this isn't always played for comedy. Someone who's had bad experiences with needles, such as someone who suffered horribly at the hands of people PlayingWithSyringes, is likely to have [[TraumaButton very understandable reasons]] for wigging out when one is in their presence, especially in a medical or scientific setting. Naturally, if you're a balloon, needles can be downright fatal!
31
32	A subset of FatalFlaw, and often portrayed as an AbsurdPhobia or IronicFear. See also AfraidOfDoctors and FoulMedicine. Can be the driving force of an InjectionPlot, especially if the GiantMedicalSyringe is involved. ScienceFiction often deals with this fear by switching to {{Futuristic Jet Injector}}s. A young character might have to face this trope during the EarPiercingPlot.
33
34	----
35	!!Examples:
36
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Guts. A guy who's CoveredWithScars, MadeOfIron, and whose [[AttackAttackAttack ultimate attack]] is [[FoeTossingCharge flinging himself into a horde]] of barbaric and often [[LegionsOfHell demonic enemies]] with his {{BFS}} and [[CharlesAtlasSuperPower raw]], UnstoppableRage (and he has this [[AcheyScars pesky scar that burns]] whenever a demon approaches him) [[{{Determinator}} no matter what they throw at him]] (be it stingers, arrows, horns, rock-like appendages, fire, lightning, or entire TREES why don't you) HATES getting sewn up with needles [[AfterActionPatchup after the fact]]. [[MinorInjuryOverreaction And he'll cry and whine all the way through.]] Bear in mind, this man ''amputated his own arm'' with a ''broken sword''.
41	* In the first episode of ''Manga/CityHunter'', Ryo Saiba is confronted by a bad guy who responds to his gun by pointing out the crowded street through the window behind him, saying the gun's too powerful and if Ryo shoots him he'll also hit someone in the crowd. Ryo fires, and when the falling bad guy reveals an undamaged window, Ryo casually explains that he slowed the bullet by ''shooting through his own hand''. He casually walks out of the restaurant and after a brief shot of him grasping his wounded hand and screaming, there's a cut to him sobbing like a baby while his partner is disinfecting and bandaging his hand up.
42	* A creepy example is Mad Pierrot from the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession20PierrotLeFou Perrot le Fou]]", an insanely violent assassin who is [[ImmuneToBullets impervious to guns]] -- and yet, when he gets hit with a small knife, he starts bawling his eyes out. The stab is bad enough to fully justify his collapsing and screaming; flailing around and [[IWantMyMommy calling for mommy]], not so much. This event reveals his [[PsychopathicManchild true nature]] -- his suit deflects bullets flying at him before they can even touch him, which probably means he doesn't feel any pain from them at all. The knife actually penetrates the force field, which means it really does hurt and is possibly the first instance of pain he's felt since his [[PlayingWithSyringes "conditioning"]] -- more a fear of pain than a fear of needles.
43	* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Only in the anime, Goku (a guy who has ''literally'' been through Heaven and Hell and fought titans capable of laying waste to planets and come out victorious) is screaming in fear when the doctor is giving him a shot while in the hospital. The second time he goes into a panic when he sees a syringe among a pile of medical equipment, much to the embarrassment of his son Gohan and his friend Krillin, and the annoyance of Vegeta. This happens three more times in ''Anime/DragonBallGT''. At one point, he even refuses to enter a hospital, saying he doesn't want to get a shot, while his annoyed friends try to point out they are visiting an injured boy and Goku isn't the patient.
44	* Excel from ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' is mortally afraid of needles in the manga due to some forgotten trauma. She manages to take an anesthetic needle while visiting a dentist though since she considered it a lesser evil compared to the drill.
45	* Edward Elric in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 2003 anime adaptation]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' acts like an adult, but betrays his young age when he has to be restrained to have an injection. This is the child, who, after performing an unholy ritual and ''losing a limb'', does it ''again'', even offering his ''heart'' to bring back his brother... Then, when being fitted for automail to replace the arm and leg and having things connected to his nerves, didn't cry once. Mustang commented he had seen grown men break down crying from this process.
46	* In ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'' episode 9, Mepple freaks out when hearing he needs a shot to recover from his illness, and tries to hide under the blanket. He ends up taking the needle [[PainToTheAss in the ass]].
47	* "Normal" example: Eriko from ''Manga/HighSchoolGirls'' is deathly afraid of injections as shown in Episode 2. It’s normal as in, she’s a completely normal human girl. Then again, she’s also a high-schooler, so her panicking is still a bit overwrought.
48	* Possibly Keiichi from ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. When he's [[spoiler:hallucinating from Hinamizawa syndrome he thinks there's needles in the ohagi and that a marker as an injection needle. Hinamizawa syndrome makes you hallucinate some of the things you're most afraid of.]] So it would make sense. It's actually explained that when he was younger, Keiichi saw a movie where a guy was killed when he swallowed needles that had been hidden in his food. The scene freaked him out to the point he's since had an irrational fear of finding needles in his food.
49	* Jonah from ''Manga/{{Jormungand}}'' is a hardened {{Child Soldier\|s}} that hardly loses his composure during a firefight... but he's no fan of needles, as he explicitly states at the end of the African Golden Butterflies arc. Cue the mass FaceFault from the rest of the group.
50	-->'''Everyone:''' Scared of needles? What are you, a kid?\
51	(''Jonah turns to them'')\
52	'''Everyone:''' Oh yeah. You ''are'' a kid.
53	* Ryuko Matoi from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' is a MadeOfIron veteran and has lived through countless crippling injuries of all shapes and sizes, having been beaten, cut up, shot at, and more. When Aikuro sticks a needle in her arm to draw blood, however, she freaks out and has to puff out her cheeks to keep from screaming in pain. However, she gets over it as the series goes on, as activating Senketsu requires her to have a needle shoved into her wrist. [[spoiler:Given that her past involved grotesque experimentation at the hands of her own mother when she was just a baby, this fear was quite justified]].
54	* Doctor Yabui of ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' has such a large fear of needles that he will faint upon seeing one. Yes, [[{{Irony}} the]] ''[[{{Irony}} doctor]]'' [[{{Irony}} is afraid of needles]].
55	* Jigen of ''Franchise/LupinIII'' isn't afraid of getting a shot, but he ''hates'' going to the dentist. Given that he's once been attacked by a venomous snake, and also [[Anime/LupinIIICrisisInTokyo had a car crash into the dentist's room with him]], it may be justified.
56	* Chisato from ''Anime/LycorisRecoil'' is terrified of needles, to the point she regularly puts off going to the doctor for checkups. Takina is in disbelief when she learns that someone that regularly dodges bullets in life-or-death battles could have such a fear, but Chisato points out that one, getting a shot hurts, and two, if she dodges the needle the visit is pointless.
57	* Nico from ''Manga/{{Nanbaka}}'' is afraid of shots, to the point that he breaks out of jail in order to avoid medical injections.
58	* {{Justified\|Trope}} in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', where several characters are utterly terrified of a hypodermic needle containing a powerup drug... because the point of the needle in question is '''1.8 centimeters across''' and is delivered in the butt. Most of them will probably fit this trope quite comfortably for the rest of their lives after ''that'' one.
59	* In ''Manga/OtakuElf'', the titular elf is terrified of needles and when she gets an elf cold and needs a shot, she tries to curse the doctor who gives her the shot, despite the fact that she has no magical abilities. Upon this being pointed out, she instead threatens to review bomb her clinic.
60	* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Bring Nino and Istuki for vaccinations, and they'll run off. The former also begs Fuutarou to help pierce her ears because she's too nervous to do it herself.
61	* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': In one episode, Ranma crash-lands in front of the Cat Café after another [[MegatonPunch trip to sub-orbit]], and a kindly wandering salesman, who had originally intended to sell to the Amazons (currently out on business) tends to his scrapes with disinfectant. This leads to the MadeOfIron martial artist hissing and wincing in pain. Somewhat disconcerting, given the sort of abuse Ranma has stoically endured in the series -- and while he has complained at medical treatment before, that's been due to the treatment itself being painful (Tōfū brutally snapping Ranma's joints back into place and proper rotation, being burned with the counter-moxibustion, etc.).
62	* In ''Manga/TheRedRangerBecomesAnAdventurerInAnotherWorld'', Tougo will face down any monster or threat with gusto to protect the weak and helpless. He doesn't fear death and won't hesitate to make a HeroicSacrifice if it means his friends make it out alive. But he hates needles so much that he'd rather use his TransformationSequence to make the guild explode than take an injection.
63	-->'''Tougo:''' ''[uncharacteristically meek]'' Please... anything but needles...\
64	'''Idola:''' You're kidding, right? What happened to that chivalry you showed when you were protecting me?\
65	'''Touga:''' I'm prepared for any injuries during a battle, but injections are different!
66	* ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'': Oscar -- [[TomboyishName a woman]] who regularly gets into bar fights, duels, etc., and who towards the end happily [[spoiler:storms the Bastille whilst suffering from terminal tuberculosis]] -- bursts into floods of tears after ''scratching her hand on a broken violin string''.
67	* Mamoru of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' comments on this jokingly to Ami, one of the few personal quirks we ever learn about him.
68	* Yumemitchi of ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'' is scared of needles and, to get herself to tear up for her acting class at Dream School in Episode 9 of ''Yume Kira Dream'', imagines a past experience she had with getting a shot. It doesn't work.
69	* ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'': Done with HumongousMecha, no less, with the {{Handwave}}-by-{{Technobabble}} version of a needle. The team ''dreaded'' the idea of injection, especially Leobreaker. He's not the worst, though: Red Alert has to ''chase Jetfire down''.
70	* The HotBlooded KidHero Jin from ''Anime/ZettaiMutekiRaijinOh'' is turned to a screaming freak at the sight of needles. This fear even incapacitated him for a while in a [[HumongousMecha mecha]] battle when he was made to face a ''syringe''-themed MonsterOfTheWeek.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Comedy]]
74	* In one sketch, Creator/BillEngvall recounts the time he went in for an acupuncture session to see if it would help him stop smoking. His first question to the acupuncturist was "Will it hurt?" Just as she tells him no, he hears a man in another room yelling in pain, and she says of the other man, "Oh, he big baby!" His response? "''I'm'' a big baby!" Turns out he had reason to be afraid, as the acupuncturist accidentally left a needle in his head, which he didn't notice until he tried to take his hat off later in the day. On the flip side, the acupuncture worked.
75	* Creator/JohnMulaney tells a story about a nurse who assured him he wouldn't faint during a blood test.
76	-->'''Mulaney''': "Pssssh, you're not gonna faint." So I stick my arm out, [he] puts the needle in, and I immediately collapse on the ground.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
80	* ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'': This was Pongdybory's OneEpisodeFear in "Pongdybory's Cold Feet"; he avoided seeing Doctorbory for his cold because he feared having to get a shot.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Comic Books]]
84	* ComicBook/BeastBoy from the ComicBook/DoomPatrol and later ComicBook/TeenTitans has this problem. Thankfully, his powers give him universal immunity, but that doesn't stop the writers from forcing him to take shots anyway.
85	* ''ComicBook/{{Lanfeust}}'': Hebus is a nine-foot-tall troll. He gets pierced by arrows, sliced by swords and axes, and burned by magic nearly on a daily basis. He has such a fear of needles that his reaction when faced with a deadly illness was to take a butcher knife, cut his leg, and say "It has to go in the blood, right? Then pour it there, that's better!"
86	* ''Mr Kiasu'': Kiasu's boss, Saboh Singh, is an almost fearless man even during his Reservist NS training exercises. He has only one FatalFlaw -- the fear of needles.
87	* Max, the psychotic rabbit of ''[[ComicBook/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max: Freelance Police]]'' fame, passes out at the sight of a needle. At least according to a single 1994 strip in a series that has NegativeContinuity up the wazoo.
88	* Kon-El (of ''[[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Superboy Volume 4]]'', ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'', ''ComicBook/SuperboyAndTheRavers'', ''[[ComicBook/Superboy2011 Superboy Volume 5]]'' & ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'') gets freaked out by needles mostly because waking up with an IV in him means his invulnerability wasn't working, and any kind of biopsy or other needle insertion means he has to drop his invulnerability. He doesn't like feeling weak and it doesn't help that he doesn't trust most scientists due to the ones who created him trying to kidnap him and modify him to be easier to control.
89	* Marvel's Comicbook/LukeCage has this fear, despite having nearly unbreakable skin.
90	* Megatron of all people in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye''. When he's on trial and Chromedome is going to perform mnemosurgery on him to see if his [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn]] is legit or not, Megatron freaks the hell out and refuses to allow Chromedome near him with the needles. It keeps things ambiguous as to whether or not he's being genuine, but in a later unrelated incident, Megatron cringes and looks away when Chromedome prepares to do it again on something else, suggesting it's genuine. Then a later issue's flashbacks reveal that in his youth, Megatron was captured and nearly put under forced mnemosurgery by the sadistic scientist Trepan to effectively lobotomize him to stymie his political writings that were inspiring too much resentment against the Senate, and the incident genuinely traumatized Megatron.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
94	* Discussed in a ''ComicStrip/NittioettanKarlsson'' strip by Nils Egerbrandt. During a mock battle, 91 is ordered to pick up a weapon and fight, but he is reluctant to do so. In the end, he decides to pick a syringe filled with a yellow liquid as his weapon, reasoning that "This way, both friend ''and'' foe will be scared of me!"
95	* Parodied in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''. The doctor gets out various non-needle instruments (stethoscope, tongue depressor, etc.), with Calvin frantically yelling, "What is that?! Will it hurt?!" and the doctor saying no. Then the doctor gets out the device for looking into people's ears, Calvin says it again, and the doctor snarks:
96	--> '''Doctor:''' It's a cattle prod. It hurts a little less than a branding iron. [''Calvin faints.''] Little kids have no sense of humor.
97	* Roger from ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' is afraid of needles, which is why the family was surprised when he donated blood after 9/11.
98	* Used as the punch line in one strip of ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean''. The high school is doing vaccinations. A student with tons of tattoos and piercings faints at the sight of a needle, and the improbability of this is {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d by the nurse.
99	* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' has a Sunday strip where Garfield and Odie are at the vet to get shots. Garfield exaggerates the details, saying that the needles are massive, sharp, and terrifying, making Odie nervous. When his is done, it's Garfield's turn. The needle Liz carries under her arm for Garfield is massive, sharp, and terrifying.
100	-->'''Garfield:''' ''[completely deadpan look on his face]'' Inside, I'm screaming.
101	* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'':
102	** Linus is not only afraid of getting shots, he's scared when he has to get a sliver taken out of his finger with a needle or tweezers. (For the latter, Charlie Brown gave some advice, telling him to pretend he was being tortured by pirates who wanted him to tell them where the gold was buried. After having his mother remove the sliver -- indicated by an off-panel scream from Linus -- he came back and said, "I told them where the gold was buried!")
103	** In one arc, Lucy and Peppermint Patty wanted to get their ears pierced, [[SarcasmMode and Marcie was a big help]], telling them about all the dangers of getting that done by an unskilled amateur; Patty almost freaked when Marcie mentioned a penicillin shot. Eventually, they decided to go the safe route and have a doctor do it, but Lucy chickened out and ran after hearing Patty overreact to it.
104	** One strip shows ''the entire cast of the strip'' trying to pry Snoopy off of a tree, with Snoopy pleading, "I don't ''want'' another rabies shot!" (Fortunately, he got it.)
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Fan Works]]
108	* In ''Fanfic/ALumpInMyThroat", [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Bubbles]] is afraid of getting a shot, one reason she's scared of getting surgery, she's also upset she needs a needle for the IV, but it's not as painful as she thought due to the numbing cream she's given beforehand.
109	* In ''Fanfic/FaceTheVax'' Everest is scared of needles and constantly resists getting a shot.
110	* In ''Fanfic/MegaManReawakened'', [[{{Irony}} Needle]] Man is [[WeaksauceWeakness afraid of]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard needles.]]
111	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3442555/1/Street-Sharks-Redux Street Sharks Redux]]'', it's mentioned that Bobby hates getting shots. Given that this is around when he and his brothers remember being StrappedToAnOperatingTable and [[PlayingWithSyringes gene slammed]], this does not make for good times.
112	* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SilverBlood'', Aura isn't exactly happy when she's made to get vaccines. [[PlayingWithSyringes Considering the implications]] [[SuperSerum of her past]], it's understandable.
113	* In Raven Child's ''Fanfic/TheSmurfetteVillage'' series, Hefty's DistaffCounterpart Toughette has a fear of needles and needs to be held down in order for somebody to inject her with one.
114	* This is a fairly common {{Fanon}} fear to give [[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb Ferb Fletcher]]. There's rarely a reason given for why he hates them and it's led to some funny circumstances, like Vanessa taking care of him when the flu he got because he didn't get a flu shot makes him delirious.
115	* Several ''Series/Numb3rs'' fanfics depict Don being uneasy around needles.
116	* ''Webcomic/NaruHinaChronicles'': Naruto once told to Hinata a story about how afraid he was of [[GiantMedicalSyringe a needle as long as his arm]].
117	** At the end of the Chunin Exam, after defeating some bad guy, Naruto is told by Mina that he will have to get a shot to stop any infection from the wounds he had during the fight. This makes him panic upon realizing it will be done with a needle.
118	** After his fight against Hiashi, Sakura tells Naruto, while healing his arms, that he will have to go to the hospital and get a check-up in case of any infections. Naruto realizes that means he will likely get a shot and frowns while telling Sakura to forget it.
119	* Kiba from the ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' fanfiction ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10527530/1/Ninja-of-Santoryu Ninja of Santoryu]]'' is absolutely terrified of pretty much anything sharp after his [[CurbStompBattle disastrous loss against Naruto]]
120	* In ''Fanfic/RidingASunset'', Bumblebee explains to Charlie that, while Cybertronians don't get shots like humans, they still need to have anti-virus software uploaded every now and then, which is implied to be slightly painful. Poor Brawn is shown to be ''terrified'' of this procedure, as when Ratchet tries to give it to him he runs out of the med bay at top speed and climbs their guard tower. It takes several 'bots (including Prime) to get him down.
121	* In ''Fanfic/HowDoIAdmitImFallingApart'', Sonic is terrified the first time he gets a shot of testosterone.
122	* Ashley/Cuddlebug from ''Fanfic/SnugglesTheSymbiote'' is terrified of needles to the point of physically jumping away at the sight of one after spending a year being harvested for Mutant Growth Hormone. [[spoiler: A time traveler from six years in the future reveals that she never really gets over it.]]
123	* Lana Loud from ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' is often imagined as being afraid of getting shots in fanfiction:
124	** In ''Fanfic/PeekingThroughTheFourthWall'', she cowers away at the mention of getting a shot.
125	** In ''Fanfic/ALoadOfBulk'', she nervously imagines getting a shot if her family takes her to the doctor after she drinks the muscle-enlargement potion.
126	* [[https://glasssnowdrop.tumblr.com/post/166466355873/ichimatsus-fear-of-needle-shots-by-%E6%9F%B3-%E9%BB%92%E9%80%8F This]] ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'' fancomic has Ichimastu being fearful of getting a shot.
127	* In ''X-Men'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheDarwinChronicles'', the mere mention of needles, syringes, or shots will cause Wolverine to hyperventilate.
128	* In Chapter 32 of ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602230/chapters/44762317 The Command Quarters]]'', [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Megatron]] is terrified of needles, thus forcing Starscream to trick Megatron into cuddling him so that he can inject the warlord with a sedative.
129	* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' fics ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11722388/1/Pointy-Things Pointy Things]]'' and ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11742812/1/Nurse-Solo Nurse Solo]]'' have Han helping Leia through a fear of needles brought on by her Death Star experience.
130	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' fic ''Fanfic/DenTaePhobia'', Tae is a little worried when the dentist says she has to inject anesthetic into him, but Robaire helps him calm down by holding his hand.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
134	* In ''Film/AreYouBeingServed'', Mrs. Slocombe doesn't want to get her inoculations because she hates needles:
135	-->'''Mrs. Slocombe''': But the mere ''sight'' of a needle makes me pass out, I can't even ''knit!''
136	* ''Film/DoctorInClover'':
137	** Wendover from ''Film/DoctorInClover'' is. Just the sight of a needle makes him FaintInShock.
138	** ''Film/DoctorInTrouble'': When Dr. Burke shows the sick Russian trawlerman the needle he'll be using to put him to sleep with, the Russian panics and refuses the injection, so his Captain knocks him out herself with a punch.
139	* Ernest in ''Film/ErnestGoesToCamp''. And just after he brags about how tough he is..."Is that your smallest needle?"
140	* ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'': No less a badass than Snake Plissken remarks that he "doesn't like needles". When you say it in his voice, it's still cool.
141	* In the documentary film ''Film/TheForgottenFrontier'', a nurse is about to immunize Appalachian schoolchildren when an extremely unhelpful local tells the kids not to get the shots, saying "It HURTS!" The kids cringe and don't step up to get their shots until a grown man steps up and bares his arm and gets a shot for himself.
142	* ''Film/{{Godmothered}}'': Eleanor shouts "No needle!" and resists Mackenzie's attempt to stab her with an Epi-Pen.
143	* In the movie ''Film/{{Help}}'' starring Music/TheBeatles, Ringo had to get an injection and was noticeably scared through the entire ordeal. At one point he even claimed to be "allergic to penicillin and all them other wonder drugs." George immediately passes out at the sight of the needle in question.
144	* In ''Film/LoveAtFirstBite'', Dr. Rosenberg isn't afraid of Dracula or gangbangers, yet he freaks out when he's bundled into an ambulance and about to be injected with a sedative. "Get the air bubbles out!"
145	* Cho-won from ''Film/Marathon2005'' is terrified of needles. His mother sometimes uses the threat of shots to get him to do what she wants. After he passes out during his first marathon, he resists the paramedics' help because he thinks they will give him a shot. His mother unsuccessfully tries to dissuade him from running in the second marathon by saying that he will have to get a shot for real if he passes out again.
146	* ''Film/NineMonths'': Creator/RobinWilliams does a turn as a Russian-American obstetrician. "That is vhy vomen haf de babies, you know? Because men couldn't handle the p--" (nurse holds up huge needle) "--aaaaaahhh" faints.
147	* ''Film/INotStupid'': Terry Khoo insists he ''isn't''... only to scream his head off and cry, in front of his entire class, when subjected to injection during a school vaccination. His friends Boon-hock and Kwok-pin made fun of him over it. [[spoiler:In a hilarious case of LikeFatherLikeSon, Terry's father, Jerry, is ''also'' deathly afraid of injections and screams like his son during the hospital scene!]]
148	--> '''Boon-hock''': You're such a wimp, you should be called "Sally" instead of "Terry".
149	* ''Film/SawII'': Slightly subverted in the "needle pit" scene. [[spoiler:There's a trap with a key to a door. The resident {{jerkass}} tosses Amanda into a trap set for himself: A pit filled with dirty syringes. Though shocked at first, she rises to the occasion and gets the key out of the trap as everyone else looks on in cowardly fear and revulsion]]. [[spoiler:Also she was a recovering drug addict, which made it much scarier for her.]]
150	* ''Film/{{Sleeper}}'': Creator/WoodyAllen's character, examined after being revived from cryogenic sleep 200 years in the future, is approached by a technician with a ''huge'' hypodermic...he stares in horror as the man walks by him to inject a potted plant, and promptly blacks out. Allen plays an anti-badass -- he claims he was beaten up by Quakers.
151	* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'': Certainly Creator/GeorgeLucas was drawing on the audiences' fear of this when he zooms in on Darth Vader's evil MindProbe, showing a needle[[note]]It looks like a [[TruthSerum hypodermic needle]] on-screen, but [[AllThereInTheManual the manual]] says that it's designed to [[ElectricTorture directly stimulate pain nerves]].[[/note]] waiting to be stuck into Princess Leia. Fortunately she's made of sterner stuff. (Clearly, it fails to make her talk.)
152	* In ''Film/UnderSiege'', [[Creator/StevenSeagal Casey Ryback]] is a former SEAL, who exhibits an awesome number and quality of skills in overcoming a group of terrorists. At the end, as he is being patched up by a [[TheMedic Navy corpsman]], he mentions that he doesn't like going to sick bay because he is afraid of needles.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Jokes]]
156	* The classic old gag runs:
157	-->'''Doctor/medical orderly''': Don't be afraid, it's just a little prick with a needle.\
158	'''Patient''': Yes, I know you are, but will the injection hurt?
159	* It is a long-running joke supposedly told by a nurse for someone covered in tattoos and/or piercings to freak out upon being told that they're going to be stuck with a needle for a blood test.
160	** To be fair, a tattoo needle and a hypodermic syringe are ''very'' different beasts in terms of pain: a tattoo gun barely pierces the top layers of the skin, while a vaccine or blood draw goes much deeper.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Literature]]
164	* She may be The Executioner but Literature/AnitaBlake is a big ole baby about needles and stitches. Several characters call it out, amused that this gets to her when so many other things don't.
165	* In ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'', the Andalite Ax mentions that he's not afraid of needles. He denies it so quickly that while it doesn't raise the [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspicion]] he really does have the phobia, it sounds like some members of the Andalite race have the phobia (despite, or maybe because, each Andalite has an AbsurdlySharpBlade on its tail). And it would be shameful for a warrior to have this phobia, but it's not necessarily rare among them.
166	* ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Myne is used to getting fevers that leave her bedridden for days on end. The setting requires some contracts to be stamped with one's own blood, and Myne needs to sign several of them over the course of the story. Every single time, the part the step that makes her wince the most is the one where her finger needs to get pricked to draw blood.
167	* In Creator/JohnHemry's ''[[Literature/PaulSinclair Burden of Proof]]'', Santiago bravely fights the fire in the compartment, even when the heat gets through her suit and "broils" her arm. After, Paul has to order her to get treatment, and she begs -- she doesn't need a shot, does she?
168	* In ''Literature/{{Doom}}'', Fly can blast his way through alien monsters and swim through toxic goo with few reservations. He needs to work up the nerve to give himself injections and fight off the excuses not to.
169	* In Creator/ArthurCClarke's novel ''A Fall of Moondust'', the passengers of a buried moon rover are sedated to conserve oxygen until rescue can arrive. One passenger has to be physically knocked out to bypass his fear of needles, which had been hypnotically instilled to cure him of a drug addiction. (The hypnotic treatment included a {{trigger phrase}} to [[OverrideCommand temporarily negate]] the phobia for legitimate medical injections, but the trapped passengers didn't have access to it.)
170	* As a 13-year-old noncombatant, Tash Arranda from ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' is not terribly badass, but [[ActionSurvivor she's still been through a lot of traumatic events]]. And she still gets anxious and shudders when she sees her brother being injected. He's fine with the things, himself.
171	* Surprisingly, Bex of ''Literature/TheGallagherGirls'' has a slight case of this.
172	* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''The Guns of Tanith'', Gaunt arranges to have his shot before his men rather than in his cabin to set a good example; Dorden says they've had a few shirkers.
173	-->''They'll bayonet anything, but the sight of a needle --''
174	* In the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' book ''The Mark'', David Hassid tries to use this as an excuse to prevent Chang Wong from receiving the MarkOfTheBeast. Unfortunately, it fails.
175	* Literature/LordPeterWimsey at one point claims to be afraid of needles. [[spoiler: Lord Peter (though possibly not yet the reader) has figured out that the doctor is the murderer, and fears the doctor wants to quietly dispose of him through a poisonous injection. He is correct.]]
176	* In ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'', Alexithymic BookWorm Dr. Lauren, to whom needles are just a plaything, has a dream about a woman stabbing her in the neck with a syringe. The First Book implies that the dream itself may be a subconscious fear of the doctor ending up in her own operating chair, and later on causes her to start shaking in uncontrollable anxiety at the sight of a simple needle.
177	* The title character of ''Literature/TheSagaOfTuck'' also has a fear of needles. And doctors. And psychiatrists. And hospitals. Childhood asthma with recurrent bouts of pneumonia will do that to you.
178	* Alanna from the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' Quartet receives any number of battle wounds and continues to fight back. But when she has her ears pierced, she faints.
179	* {{Downplayed}} and {{justified\|Trope}} in ''Literature/{{Twig}}''. After spending most of his life enduring the most [[PsychoSerum painful injections possible]] -- and getting addicted to the effects -- Sy has developed a deep hatred and mild fear for needles. That doesn't stop him from stabbing himself with one, though.
180	* ''Literature/WasteOfSpace'': In this book, [[TheProtagonist Dash]] states [[CharacterNarrator to the audience]] that Cesar Marquez is afraid of needles. When a syringe full of cyanide gets jabbed in his thigh, Cesar lets out a shriek and passes out. [[spoiler:Thankfully, he wasn't injected with a lethal amount of cyanide.]]
181	* The protagonist of Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/AWorldOutOfTime'' died of cancer before the book begins ([[HumanPopsicle he got better]]). He reflects on how that experience cured him of any fear of needles.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
185	* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Dr. Spaceman is creeped out by the idea of ''giving'' people injections.
186	* ''[[Series/NineOneOne 9-1-1]]'': Bobby's fear of needles once caused him to faint. He finds out he's BlessedWithSuck after Chimney cajoles him into donating blood and it’s discovered that he has a rare genetic factor that makes his blood a treatment for Rhesus Disease, which means he has to donate blood on a regular basis.
187	* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''
188	** Roy Harper is afraid of needles, most likely as a MythologyGag to him being an addict in the comics. Or subtle {{Foreshadowing}} to him getting injected with Mirakuru in the episode "Three Ghosts". When he has to get injected in the hospital, Thea Queen gives him a KissOfDistraction which marks the start of their romance.
189	** Felicity Smoak has also admitted to being terrified of needles "[[BuffySpeak and pretty much all pointy things]]". Given that her boss regularly shoots arrows in people, she notes the irony.
190	* In ''Series/BarneyMiller'', tough ex-Marine Wojohowicz is shown to be afraid of a flu shot.
191	* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': In "Rapture", AcePilot Starbuck winces repeatedly as Dualla jabs her with morpha needles, despite already being in incredible pain from second-degree burns to both hands. As Starbuck was having an affair with her husband at the time, Dualla clearly wasn't trying to be gentle.
192	* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Rosa's fear of needles serves as a basis for the subplot of the Season 3 episode "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS3E16HouseMouses House Mouses]]."
193	* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': Chuck is terrified of needles. At one point he takes advantage of that fact to prolong/avoid torture.
194	* Logan Cale from ''Series/DarkAngel'' admits he doesn't like needles in the episode "Female Trouble" when he tries to undergo therapy to prevent him from ending up back in a wheelchair.
195	* ''Series/TheDevilJudge'': Sun-ah is afraid of syringes, though that doesn't stop her from injecting Yo-han with a drug.
196	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Downplayed in "Doctor Who and the Silurians" -- the Third Doctor is decidedly unhappy about having to get an injection against the Silurian plague, but grudgingly relents.
197	* ''Series/{{Emergency}}'': Although John Gage is great at using needles as a paramedic, it's shown in at least one episode that he's fearful about getting shots.
198	* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
199	** Jayne, the gruff, tough badass of the crew of Serenity, absolutely hates getting patched up by Simon after a job. As Jayne is the ButtMonkey of the crew, this is PlayedForLaughs.
200	** River is also deathly afraid of needles, operating theaters, and the like, for [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable perfectly]] [[PlayingWithSyringes understandable]] [[MindRape reasons]]. Decidedly ''not'' PlayedForLaughs.
201	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Frasier is advising people on his radio show to get flu shots. As an example, he claims he will be facing his fear of needles by getting his own shot live on the show. When Roz asks about his fear, he claims that he only pretends to be scared in order to inspire people who actually ''are'' scared. But then Roz starts talking about all the things that could go wrong with an injection, [[BecomingTheMask instilling actual fear in Frasier]].
202	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
203	** Phoebe and Rachel decide to get tattoos, but Phoebe backs out at the last moment when she realizes it's actually done with needles.
204	-->'''Phoebe:''' Did you know they do this with needles?\
205	'''Rachel''' [[DeadpanSnarker Really? You don't say! Because MINE was licked on by kittens!]]
206	** Ross doesn't like needles either. In one episode, he has a severe allergic reaction to kiwi fruit and doesn't want to go to the hospital for a shot. He suggests that they could "take the needle and squirt it into my mouth, you know, like a squirt gun" instead. Monica says he can hold her hand while he gets the shot; he grips it so tightly, she ends up with a bone bruise and a puncture wound from her ring.
207	* Played with in an episode of ''Series/GilligansIsland'' in which the castaways all develop an allergy to Gilligan. The Professor develops an allergy shot for it, but the fear comes from the size of the "needle" on his handmade syringe. It's about the size of a small dagger.
208	* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Benjamin Linus actually declares he can't stand needles. At the time he was manipulating Sawyer, so this may have been a lie to play up the drama.
209	* ''Series/{{MASH}}'':
210	** The jolly surgeons of the 4077 needed a rare blood type to save a man's life. They found the right donor, but he was terrified of needles. "I can't stand those things! They make me feel -- ''oogy''!" This shriveling coward's usual job? Bomb disposal.
211	** Frank Burns is terrified of shots too and has to be ''dragged'' to a blood drive. Of course, Frank is very much a MilesGloriosus.
212	* In one episode of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', the MonsterOfTheWeek catches Kimberly's flu bug. Although this creature isn't afraid to fight the Rangers, he shivers in fear when Finster offers to give him a vaccine with a needle. [[spoiler:Luckily for the monster, Finster had a cure in a cold pill, instead, which he was coaxing his creation to take in the FIRST PLACE!]]
213	* ''Series/{{Mom}}'': Jill is afraid of needles (except for Botox) which is why she became an alcoholic even though "heroin has fewer calories".
214	* ''Series/{{Monk}}'':
215	** Adrian Monk is afraid of nearly everything, but needles are very high. In fact, needles are second only to germs on his list (yes, he has a list of 312 fears and phobias; he's afraid of ''not'' having lists).
216	** This drives the plot of "[[Recap/MonkS5E8MrMonkGoesToARockConcert Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert]]": when a roadie is found dead of a heroin overdose, his girlfriend insists that it was foul play because he was too afraid of needles to inject himself. It is revealed that [[spoiler:he had managed to overcome the phobia, but the overdose was a murder nonetheless]].
217	--->'''Kendra Frank:''' Stork was completely phobic about needles. He was the only roadie I've ever met that didn't even have ''one'' tattoo! I mean, he missed a whole South American tour last year because he wouldn't get vaccinated!
218	** Also used as a plot point in "[[Recap/MonkS1E5MrMonkGoesToTheAsylum Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum]]," in what appeared to be a [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit murder-suicide case]]: a junkie named Bill [=LaFrankie=] was hiding in the medical supply room after hours, then shot and killed the beloved director Dr. Conrad Gould when he came in while doing his rounds. He then used Dr. Gould's keys to break into a cabinet to steal some morphine. The police found him dead in the woods the next day, from a self-overdose. Monk, however, finds that [=LaFrankie=] was the fall guy when he breaks into current director Dr. Morris Lancaster's office and finds [=LaFrankie=]'s file, which shows that he was afraid of needles, not to mention that Dr. Gould's keys were still in his pocket in one crime scene photo.
219	* One minor plot on an episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is Abby convincing Team Gibbs to donate at a blood drive. Tony gives a slew of excuses before admitting that, ever since his stay in the hospital with the plague, he's deathly afraid of needles. In the end, Abby finds a special volunteer who's specially trained in helping people with trypanophobia (and rather pretty, which for [[CasanovaWannabe Tony]] is a plus) and Tony goes off to give blood.
220	* Deeks from ''Series/NCISLosAngeles''. One smallpox vaccine and he goes down for the count.
221	* ''Series/{{Oz}}'': Neo-Nazi inmate Robson hates needles, so he insists on laughing gas while getting his receding gums replaced. This has serious consequences for him when he racially insults his Middle-Eastern dentist while high; in revenge, the dentist implants him with the gums of a black man, then lets everyone in prison know about it. After which needles become the least of Robson's worries.
222	-->"What is it with you Nazis and gas?"
223	* Leslie has this problem in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' -- so much so that when her {{Heterosexual Life Partner\|s}} Ann tries to inoculate her, she lets loose with a swear word.
224	* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Stopover", a DoubleAgent cites this trope--claiming he was tortured by the Khmer Rouge PlayingWithSyringes--to avoid getting a sedative. The doctor gives him a pill instead, which he spits out once the doctor has left the room.
225	* In ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' Red Green is reluctant to get a DNA test done for this reason.
226	* In ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'', Will's date can't stand needles, so she stays away while he's forced to function as doctor by their captors. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she still gets stuck by a different kind of needle, in an effort to get Will to work harder.]]
227	* ''Series/{{Search}}'': Ye-rim hates injections, and has to look away when she has her blood taken.
228	* Early in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark uses this as an excuse to get out of a blood drive. Actually, his ExactWords were "I kind of have a problem with needles" (the real problem being that they can't penetrate his skin).
229	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
230	** The various series use hyposprays, which are supposed to be painless and which don't pierce the skin. Nevertheless, many recipients wince when the spray is "injected". Possibly justified if the ''medication'' is of a kind that stings when it enters tissue.
231	** The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E08LittleGreenMen Little Green Men]]" shows Quark screaming at having received repeatedly ineffective injections of Sodium Pentethol.
232	* Very much downplayed, but in an episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'', the main characters each have to get injections in their... um... hindquarters. While Jack doesn't appear scared, he is nonetheless rather annoyed by the idea.
233	-->'''Jack:''' ''[to the nurse]'' Do me a favor, really try and [[SarcasmMode jam it in there this time, will you]]?
234	* In ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', Mr. Moseby is so afraid of needles that he tries to get out of taking a blood test by letting people in the line cut in front of him. When Maddie mocks him for his childish fear, he denies being afraid saying he would "laugh at the needle" only to faint when it's his turn.
235	* Diego Hargreeves of ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' straight-up faints when he tries to volunteer himself to donate blood to his sister. [[FridgeBrilliance It almost certainly stems from the time his father gave him and his siblings homemade tattoos when they were thirteen.]]
236	* At least twice on ''Series/WhatsHappening'', when someone mentions "a needle" around Raj, Raj can only whimper a rough approximation of the question "A needle?"
237	* ''Series/WillAndGrace'': Grace is so afraid of them that she can't even say "Ringo," because he was a Beatle and that sounds like "needle." Karen takes advantage of this fact when she finds out the other three are betting against her and employs a ridiculously young and airheaded nurse to take Grace's blood ("Don't worry, ma'am, I've done this bunches of times. Mostly on oranges, but...")
238	[[/folder]]
239
240	[[folder:Video Games]]
241	* Combined with EyeScream, in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'', the player must guide a needle [[EyeScream into Isaac Clarke's pupil]] in order to extract information from his brain. The needle begins to shake as you get closer to Isaac's soft, tender eye. Sounds bad? If you mess it up, [[spoiler:the needle inexplicably turns into [[ThisIsADrill a drill]]]]!
242	* In ''VideoGame/{{Grow}} nano vol.3'', you need to place objects to help a sick man to recover, one of these objects is medicine which turn into a doctor with a giant syringe after some turns, if the sick man is awake he will be scared and avoid the shot.
243	* A random cutscene in ''VideoGame/HarvestTown'' reveals that both Duke Evans and Chris Ford are nervous about getting their routine shots, and both quickly escape from the clinic when they are called for their turns.
244	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'':
245	** [[MadDoctor Mordin]] claims this about [[TheBigGuy Urdnot]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Wrex]] when he's eager to leave his lab and donate tissue samples later. Mordin's comment on the matter implies that this is common among male Krogans:
246	--->'''Mordin:''' Common Phobia. Fear of needles.\
247	'''Shepard:''' ...or Salarian doctors.
248	** Its veracity may be debatable, but either way, it's hilarious. Especially when he finally gets around to it...
249	--->'''Wrex:''' Urgh, yeah...\
250	'''Shepard:''' Something wrong?\
251	'''Wrex:''' Mordin... He got his tissue sample, alright. Let's just scalpels were never meant to cut [[GroinAttack where he cut.]]
252	** Also Shepard, if you recruit Dr. Michel instead of Dr. Chakwas.
253	--->'''Shepard:''' After Cerberus, I'm not much on medical exams... No needles, right?\
254	'''Dr. Michel:''' You get shot twenty times a day and a little pinprick makes you nervous?
255	* Holly, in ''VisualNovel/MaxsBigBustACaptainNekoraiTale'', is deathly afraid of needles, as is shown when she gets an injection of cat DNA to treat her cat allergy after becoming a CatGirl. She's so afraid, in fact, that she nearly dislocates Max's arm as the latter holds her down for the injection. Afterwards, [[BetterThanABareBulb of course]], she admits that it wasn't so bad and she got herself worked up for nothing.
256	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'': [[AllThereInTheManual According to some official sources]], [[{{Irony}} Needle Man]].
257	* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'':
258	** It is stated that resident ButtMonkey Johnny Sasaki has skipped out on mandatory shots due to his fear of needles. This leaves him with [[spoiler:no nanomachines in his body]], unlike every other soldier out there, and [[spoiler:makes him immune whenever anybody futzes with the nanos.]] Although he's never shown being afraid of needles and only mentions it right in the middle of his BigDamnHeroes moment, this also explains the character's trademark chronic diarrhea; because he skipped out on the shots, he's also not immunized to any bugs that might be in the local water.
259	** Prior to getting an injection to update his own nanos from Drebin, Snake resists, and Drebin asks if he is scared of needles. In this case, his fear, or rather hesitance, was justified, since [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid the last time]] he received an injection before a mission, he got an unwanted gift: the [[TyphoidMary FOXDIE virus]]. [[spoiler:His gut instinct turns out to be correct, as Drebin also injected him with a new FOXDIE strain programmed to kill EVA/Big Mama, Ocelot, and Big Boss himself, but also serves as a blessing in disguise, as the new FOXDIE uproots and cancels out the original mutating strain and helps prevent Snake from becoming a [[PersonOfMassDestruction walking biological weapon]].]]
260	* Plays a big part in ''VideoGame/NightmareNed'''s Medical Nightmare stage.
261	* In ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'', if you go to the hospital later in the game and talk to the girl behind the counter, she teasingly offers to give everyone free flu shots. Cue the young Luke freaking out (though he does stay more composed than some of the examples on this page).
262	* John Joe from the ''VideoGame/{{Richman}}'' series is afraid of getting a shot when hospitalized.
263	-->'''John Joe:''' ''[painfully]'' I don't want to get a shot!
264	* In ''Tamagotchi Corner Shop 2'', at the clinic, one of the phrases that Mrs. Frill says is "I should tell you, I dislike needles."
265	* Montley from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' suffers from this, being afraid to the point that being close to a Lancer and their [[{{BFG}} Lances]] causes him to hyperventilate and lose health.
266	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has a boss called Grobbulous who may have been created to instill this fear in players. A giant flesh golem, he's ugly, gross, and has a giant needle in place of a right hand which he uses to spread some sort of lethal toxin.
267	[[/folder]]
268
269	[[folder:Web Animation]]
270	* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': In a FurryReminder moment, Loona the hellhound has to get a "Hellbies" shot in the episode "[[Recap/HelluvaBossS2E4WesternEnergy Western Energy]]". The normally snarky, moody, and angry hellhound turns into a shivering, terrified mess at the thought of getting a shot, with Blitzo having to drag her around and comfort her during their entire stay in Sloth. When she finally sees the needle, she goes full feral dog in her attempt to avoid it, fighting off Bltizo and the Doctor, in order to not get injected, before they finally manage to subdue her and give her the shot.
271	* ''WebAnimation/RabbitGames'': In "Pretty Rabbit", when the player is going to brush Percy's teeth, he refuses, [[spoiler:and a bunch of sedative needles appear]], causing him to freak out.
272	[[/folder]]
273
274	[[folder:Webcomics]]
275	* There's a [[http://bloodyurban.smackjeeves.com/comics/1414964/blood-test/ whole strip]] devoted to this in ''Webcomic/BloodyUrban'', where Murray expresses his fears of needle-related death to his vampire girlfriend Camille.
276	* In ''Webcomic/CharCole'', Cole faints due to this. [[http://charcole.kyrio.net/?comic=charcole222-falling-in-pieces It didn't go unnoticed]], as Pokémon hardly ever have phobias. It also leaves him as a deer in the headlights when charged by a Nidoran.
277	* Invoked savagely in ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'', as Dan is dragged into the pre-enrollment physical at the Succubus and Incubus Academy. [[spoiler:The "needle" is also so comically oversized that the doc has to hoist it over his shoulder, and he's stroking it lovingly like an infant.]]
278	-->'''Abel:''' Dan here needs to take the placement test, but can you bypass the needle part?\
279	'''Dan:''' Needle pa--\
280	'''Doc:''' Abel, I'm hurt. My needles are the gentlest thing since [[spoiler:jumper cables.]]\
281	'''Dan:''' [''THUD'']
282	* ''Webcomic/DeanNalaVinny'': Nala is very excited to learn that Dean has made plans for the trio to travel to [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CkT4qzEyoJ_/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Morocco]]. However, Dean brings up that Nala will need multiple inoculations, which Vinny lists: rabies, Hep A and B, etc. Not eager to get jabbed, Nala suggests they visit a sleepy Scottish village only two miles away instead: "It has a bowling club and it ''used'' to have a John Deere dealer."
283	* In ''Webcomic/{{Dissonance}}'' Pandora [[http://dissonanceonline.tumblr.com/post/130422880691 freaks]] when she spots Sarah with a needle.
284	* Also invoked in ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'' with a [[http://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/2009/01/28/unorthodox-medicine/ fake syringe]] made of industrial foam that the vet uses to make Grape faint.
285	* Subverted in one of the ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo'': Beginnings comics, wherein a young Rayne goes to the doctor and receives a shot without batting an eyelash. However, when the tongue depressors come out...
286	* Pato from ''Webcomic/M9Girls'', is shown in overt distress and covering her eyes when a blood sample is taken from her.
287	* ''Webcomic/MenageA3'': In one plot sequence (originally a Kickstarter/print bonus story), lead character Gary is reduced to a quivering heap by the prospect of a blood test; he turns out to be very, very needle-phobic. In fact, [[spoiler:he faints at the moment the hypodermic goes in, and the rest of the story is AllJustADream]].
288	* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': All of the monsters in this comic are based on common fears and phobias, and one that appears in Chapter 19 embodies trypanophobia, or the fear of needles. The monster has six sharp, spindly legs, and its arms are two {{Giant Medical Syringe}}s that can shoot out massive needles as projectiles.
289	* In ''Webcomic/{{Sunstone}}'' Cassie has never been fond of needles, it doesn't help that the poor girl's best friend is a tattoo artist and she just can't resist getting the most extravagant tattoo worthy of her personality.
290	[[/folder]]
291
292	[[folder:Web Original]]
293	* ''VideoGame/Halo2'' ARG ''ARG/ILoveBees'' has Yasmine and all her wacky personas scared of needles after she's forced into surgery [[spoiler:to become a Spartan]].
294	[[/folder]]
295
296	[[folder:Web Videos]]
297	* WebVideo/PieGuyRulz may be all TranquilFury in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB6gfjTbsJM&list=PL8J90yu5IMkvo_-FZ15AufI_TYc1shdV4&index=4 the video]], but the way he describes an experience in [[SuckySchool college]], needles seem to be his BerserkButton.
298	-->"I jump straight onto a thumbtack sticking up. I am terrified of needles. This was a very bad experience for me. If he (his roommate) had been there, he would have heard my wrath."
299	* ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'': Bowser Junior is revealed to be this, as shown when he had to get a flu shot.
300	[[/folder]]
301
302	[[folder:Western Animation]]
303	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'', Nikki at first believes Jonesy has a fear of needles when he refuses to donate blood, makes excuses, and lies about it, but then she realizes that he's actually AfraidOfBlood.
304	* ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansTheSeries'' features [[BadassAdorable Lucky]] doing everything he can to avoid getting a shot from the visiting veterinarian. This of course comes back to bite him when he comes down with the very unusual condition (pink spots, green fur, and an itchy and blue clown-like nose) that the shot would have prevented.
305	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Harley Quinn cries like a little girl when Poison Ivy gives her a shot in "Harley and Ivy" (which she needs to survive the toxic waste dump Ivy is hiding out in). Harley even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by saying, "You'd think after hangin' out with Mistah J, I'd be used to a little pain."
306	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Baymax}}'': Mbita drives away from Baymax wanting to give him a histamine shot for his new fish allergies. Albeit Mbita ''would'' be terrified at a strange balloon robot with a needle finger coming out of him, something that Baymax himself lampshades. Mbita finally relents after Baymax saves him from a car crash.
307	* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Tucker lists this as one of the reasons he hates hospitals.
308	* In the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "This Won't Hurt an Ed", Eddy learns that Kevin is afraid of needles and uses this to torment him by convincing everyone it's Booster Shot Day. Though by the end of the episode, Kevin overcomes his fear of needles and [[LaserGuidedKarma it turns out that Eddy has to get a shot]].
309	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Poof catches the "Chicken Poofs" in the episode of the same name (meaning he turns into a chicken and whatever he sneezes on does too). When taken to get treated, Poof runs at the first sight of the doctor taking an oversized needle out to give him the medicine, leading to the main cast chasing after him as he causes chaos with his disease. When they finally catch Poof, the doctor reveals the needle is actually a carrying case for the medicine and he could've just given Poof a little sippy cup to cure him. [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot Wanda is less than amused when she finds this out]].
310	* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': Jackie wouldn't let a dentist anesthetize him because of this trope until he saw the instrument that'd later be used to remove his bad tooth.
311	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In one episode, Stumpy claims to not be afraid of needles [[ImmediateSelfContradiction before fainting out of fear and proving that he is.]] In another one, Kaeloo uses this against him when he is PlayingSick and she needs to expose him and get him to stop, by claiming that a sick person needs injections. Stumpy immediately claims to have gotten better.
312	* ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'': Stitch hates needles. A lot. His greatest fear is water, and yet he doesn't hesitate to jump in the shower in an attempt to get out of injections. Justified as in [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch the original film]], he was pricked in the ear to have his blood extracted for DNA tracking in his prison cell.
313	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/LittleLulu'', a BadassBiker has been trying to summon the courage to get a tattoo. Near the end of the episode, he observes kids and their mothers coming out of the tattoo parlour with (painted-on) tattoos and nearly collapses on his bike with shame.
314	* ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'':
315	** "Inoculation Day" reveals Jake is terrified of needles. The shot that was meant for him shoots Adam instead. Jake was so impressed by this that he doesn't notice when he gets a shot.
316	** In "Bubble Boy", Adam claims that he's allergic to big cats, but when the school nurse tries to shoot him with an allergy vaccine, he panics and makes up more allergies as she presents him with more vaccines meant for different animals. Given Adam turned into a monkey when he was shot with the vaccine that was meant for Jake in "Inoculation Day", his fear isn't exactly unjustified.
317	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' episode "Needle Point" reveals that Skipper is so afraid of shots, he almost had his team leave their home forever, then viciously fights them to get out of getting one. The other three even were afraid he might leave the zoo on his own and never return.
318	* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode "The Shot" gives this to Chuckie, who tells Tommy of him getting a booster shot, which sends Tommy into a panic. He and another baby, Hector, attempt to escape from the doctor's, only to be ratted out by Angelica. In the end, Tommy and Hector aren't affected by the shot at all, but Angelica, hit with LaserGuidedKarma, leaves the office bawling like a baby.
319	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' has Sabrina have to go get treated for "Witch-itis" a disease that turns her tongue green and throws her magical powers out of whack. When she initially goes, she gets scared off by the doctor's supposed needle (it was just a watering can) and refuses to get treated.
320	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E21BartMangledBanner Bart Mangled Banner]]", Bart escapes out the window when he was due a flu vaccine while being chased by Dr. Hibbert for a lengthy sequence. He only gets the shot when he's tricked by Barney disguised as Dr. Hibbert with a LatexPerfection.
321	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In "Shots!", Cartman pretends to be an anti-vaxxer because he's afraid of getting a shot. In fact, just the mere sight of a needle causes him to freak out and run around squealing like a pig.
322	-->'''Cartman:''' Hey, what's going on--'''''WEEEEEEEEEE!!!'''''
323	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK7VMmqQhpk This Soviet cartoon]] shows that hippos aren't exempt from this trope, too.
324	[[/folder]]
325
326	[[folder:Real Life]]
327	* Lidocaine rubbing (which is standard procedure before injection) help alleviate this for some cases (such as intramuscular injection) to the point that needle injection feels like a bump, with mild sprain aftereffect surfacing hours after the lidocaine wears off.
328	* Creator/JackieChan was terrified of needles, yet he did all his own stunts for years. Cannot be insured due to the guarantee of injury during filming. The man has broken nigh every bone in his body, fractured his nose three (or more) times, has a hole in his skull, burned most of the skin of his hand off, to count among others.
329	* UsefulNotes/AlCapone was also afraid of needles. He had syphilis for most of his life (he "interviewed" many of his prostitutes), which could have been cured by a shot of penicillin, but instead suffered for years and eventually died of the disease because he refused to have an injection.
330	** Alcatraz officials eventually convinced him to get one after they found him too sick to move one day. The disease was pretty much terminal already, though, so all it did was stabilize his health for his last few years instead of improving it. Part of the reason he was let out of prison early was that they didn't think he was going to live long enough to see it out.
331	* Almost every small child, to the point where they cry upon having to go to the doctor's office.
332	* Music/JimiHendrix was horribly afraid of needles.
333	* Some condemned criminals have actually opted for the electric chair over lethal injection because of this.
334	* [[Music/MyChemicalRomance Gerard Way]] has mentioned he doesn't have tattoos because of a fear of needles.
335	* Ditto for Music/TaylorSwift.
336	* Music/EricClapton, according to his ex-wife Pattie Boyd.
337	* [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison]] was reportedly afraid of needles as well.
338	* Former adult film actress Aurora Snow was afraid of the pain of getting a piercing or tattoo; she wouldn't get her ears pierced let alone a tattoo covering her whole back. As a result, she marketed herself that way via an IMDB quote.
339	* The "All In A Day's Work" or "Humor In Medicine" columns of the magazine ''Reader's Digest'' frequently feature stories told by nurses or doctors of a patient covered in tattoos and/or piercings freaking out upon being told that they're going to be stuck with a needle for a blood test or IV placement.
340	* Interestingly, this is one of the very few phobias that can be directly fatal in real life. A not-uncommon physical reaction is the reflex syncope - a sudden drop in blood pressure, often resulting in fainting. There are documented cases of people dying of vasovagal shock as a result.
341	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / AfraidOfNeedles