Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Blood phobia
Introduction
Background
Background
Blood phobia (also, AE: Hemophobia, BE: Haemophobia) is the extreme and irrational fear of blood. Acute cases of this fear can cause physical reactions that are uncommon in most other fears, specifically Vasovagal Syncope (fainting).[1] Similar reactions can also occur with trypanophobia and traumatophobia. For this reason, these three phobias are categorized as “blood-injection-injury phobia” by the DSM-IV.[2] Some early texts refer to this category as “blood-injury-illness phobia.”[3]
Etiology
Etiology
Blood phobia is often caused by direct or vicarious trauma in childhood or adolescence.[3] There is also a genetic component to blood phobia.[4]
Treatment
Treatment
In patients with vasovagal blood phobia, patients who are successfully treated with psychological interventions are seen as unique.[5] In contrast, many behavioral techniques useful in mitigating vasovagal syncope, such as applying tension to the muscles in an effort to increase blood pressure, are helpful to patients with blood phobia.[6] Medical devices, such as pacemakers, are also used to treat patients with blood-phobia.[5]
References
References
- ↑ “The Merck Manual”.
- ↑ Lipsitz, JD; Barlow, DH; Mannuzza, S; Hofmann, SG; Fyer, AJ (Jul), “Clinical features of four DSM-IV-specific phobia subtypes”, The Journal Of Nervous And Mental Disease, 190 (7): 471–8 Check date values in:
|date=, |year= / |date= mismatch(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thyer, Bruce A.; Himle, Joseph; Curtis, George C. (Jul), “Blood-Injury-Illness Phobia: A Review”, Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 41 (4): 451–9 Check date values in:
|date=, |year= / |date= mismatch(help) - ↑ Neale, MC; Walters, EE; Eaves, LJ; Kessler, RC; Heath, AC; Kendler, KS (December 15, 1994), “Genetics of blood-injury fears and phobias: a population-based twin study”, American Journal Of Medical Genetics, 54 (4): 326–34
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Van Dijk, Nynke; Velzeboer, Simone CJM; Destrée-Vonk, Anneke; Linzer, Mark; Wieling, Wouter (January 2001), “Psychological treatment of malignant vasovagal syncope due to bloodphobia.”, Pacing And Clinical Electrophysiology, 24 (1): 122–4
- ↑ Peterson, Alan L. (Lt. Col.); Isler III, William C. (Capt.) (September 2004), “Applied tension treatment of vasovagal syncope during pregnancy”, Military Medicine, 169 (9): 751–3
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]