Injection and fear!

There are some words that have seeped into the subconscious and scarred us forever. The word “injection” is such! For a child, there was no greater fear than this.

A child’s evaluation of the world was simple- evil in its most morbid form, came in the shape of a doctor holding an injection in hand. As he squirted the first few drops from the needle-tip, the fear multiplied. The child was now out of hand. He ran helter-skelter, like a possessed spirit, around the room and beyond! It required an entire army- the doctor, nurses, attendants, compounders, and parents to pin him down. Even as he was caught, and held by two attendants, he struggled and kicked, shouting hysterically all the while! Soon, he had eluded the collective grasp, by biting the attendant, and was again on the loose!

After multiple tries and many more people pouncing on him, he was eventually subdued! And once the doctor managed to inject him, he let out a howl, enough to bring down the roof-top! The sobbing continued unabated, stifled with periodic gasps and sniffs. To complicate it, parents used the doctor in other ways, “If you do too much mischief, I will take you to ‘injection mama’!”

Sometimes, the doctor, also a family friend, came home. For the child, one look at the face was enough. It was as though he had seen a ghost. The doctor tried his best, “See! There is no injection in my hand!” The child screamed even more- as though through deceit, he will inject him once more!

Children classified doctors as “good” and “evil” depending on their eagerness to use the injection! They naturally gravitated towards doctors who didn’t use the injection. Instead, they prescribed some chewy tablet that tasted like a peppermint! When there was no chocolate at home, the child volunteered, “Let’s go to that peppermint doctor!”

Some doctors held a bait- “If you take this injection, I will give you a chocolate!” It didn’t lessen the trauma, but for the child, there was some light at the end of the tunnel! After the injection, the doctor scoured his desk-drawers, but found no chocolate! The child’s trust was broken. The incident made him street-smart.

Faced with a similar situation later, he bargained with the doctor, “First, give me the chocolate. Then, I will take the injection!” In the days of yore, a particular form of injection was the epitome of fear. If a dog bit you, you had to take 21 injections, that too, in the tummy! It was unclear if this was fact or fiction. But the fear of the needle was now extended to the dog! Why take a chance, isn’t it? You learnt to stay far away from both- dogs and injections!

As you grew older, you learnt to put up with the pinprick. Still, even now, as you wait with the sleeve folded up, that subconscious fear comes back. You want to shout and run for cover, but alas, your age does not permit this response!

Cannot technology with its touted promise for a better world, device a less painful method? We hope a day will come, when injections find their rightful place in the museum, as relics of a barbaric age!