50 percent of kids are afraid of needles, study says

Needle phobia causes some adults to avoid the doctor's office

If you get anxious, nervous, nearly pass out, or even faint when confronted with getting a shot at the doctor's office, you may have needle phobia. 

A study reported by the US National Library of Medicine says up to 50 percent of children exhibit needle fear. 

Dr. Amy Baxter of Pain Care Labs in Atlanta says a fear of needles and injections is often the reason adults decline vaccines and even avoid getting medical care altogether. 

"That phobia comes from a very specific experience when they were four to six years old," said Dr. Baxter. "And for most people, it's when all of the booster shots were clustered on the same day."

It turns out only three to five percent of people are born with a physical reaction to needles. 

Needle phobia may decrease with age. 

Dr. Baxter says the best way to get over it is by conditioning yourself with positive experiences at the doctor's office.Â