At the sight of (her own) blood, she goes weak in the knees, pale, cannot speak, shakes, and is generally beyond reason. Even a small amount of her own blood. No blood, no freak out. Once it's covered (by towel or band-aid), she is calm and has a normal response to being an injured kid, a little whimper and then back to play.
Any suggestions/tips for how I can help her overcome this? It rarely comes up, so if it it's something we just live with and plan around, that's okay too. Seems like she would get relief from moving through this.
TIA
Okay, seems like this isn't a big deal. Thanks guys. We'll just keep on calmly cleaning off the wound and covering it. Human body books are a good idea too.
This is fairly common. She'll either outgrow it or not. I doubt that there is any way you can change her response tho remaining calm and quickly handling the situation, as you're doing, will help. I wouldn't focus on it. Just take care of the injury. No big deal and eventually she may not react so strongly.
honestly some people just have an issue with blood. i have the same faintness/dizziness when i see blood moving (trickling, running down a limb, dripping, even watching blood being taken) if it's just a bead or a drop on the floor i'm fine but if it is moving i will nearly pass out. it's not conscious, i am not "afraid" of it, i have no problem with it that i'm aware of, it's purely physical. and i can't control it.
on the other hand, my 4 year old had a bloody nose yesterday and FLIPPED. he was almost hysterical - he saw it dripping down onto the floor. he also broke his arm last week, and when they took the iv out (they had put it in after he was under anesthesia) he saw a spot of blood under the tape and nearly lost it. so it may be partially a kid thing, too. (or maybe my son inherited my "blood thing" lol) don't know...but hang in there. it's a fear like any other.
there are some really nice books out there about the human body....maybe this would help?
My husband and I give our girls high fives when they bleed. If my two year old comes to me with a little scrape on her knee that's bleeding a little we say, "way to go! Good job!" and then high five her. It's pretty strange, I know, but it works, and because of this, they don't freak out about little owies.
One trick you can do is when you are cleaning up a scrape, use a dark colored washcloth. That way, the blood doesn't show on the washcloth, either!
Good luck....
My daughter is 6, and has experienced this since she was around 2. Google vasovagal syncope, or blood injury phobia. It's something that is typically "grown out" of into later years, though at 6, my daughters issues are still raging. She goes white as a ghost, starts sweating, and passes out at the sight of her own, or someone elses blood.(Even when on the TV. She has seen blood on TV twice and passed out immediately.) She also fears the sound of an ambulance. We try to work though it with laying down and deep breathing. We have sought help from a neurologist who didn't really help. He said she will eventually learn how to control her anxiety. We're considering going to therapy to help her deal with it. 4 years of this has been overwhelming. I thought it would have subsided by now, but no such luck. If I knew a good way to overcome it, I'd lend advise. I have done everything I can. I am sorry she is dealing with this.
H.
Well, I get woozy with my own blood. I'm an avid blood donor and the the great techs at my donation center know that I break the "don't close your eyes" rule because seeing my blood in the bag (or the needles) will cause me to pass out.
But, I can handle other people pretty well, mostly because if there's blood, it's likely an emergency and I'm not afraid to help.
I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. She'll likely outgrow it or learn to manage it better as she gets older.
Good luck!
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Actually, she IS having a "normal" response. It's just not normal to you. There are many people who have this sort of response to blood. My best friend is 37 and she's like this. For the first time ever, she was able to deal with a "bloody injury issue" (as she called it) about a month ago. But she can't talk about it.
I have trouble with blood too, but not to that extent. I can usually get through a crisis but that's about it. I was much worse before I had kids. Once a crisis is over, though, I'm a complete wreck. I'm anxious all through the crisis but I concentrate on "the next step." And then I'm a mess.
Let's just say that there's a reason I'm not a fan of horror movies and shows like NCIS. And I have no idea what I would do if there were an open gut wound or bone-exposed wound in front of me. So far (knock on wood) I haven't had to deal with those.
From what I understand, this is something that people just have. My mother is like this. She can't give blood, even passes out when she has to go to the lab and give samples for blood work. I have to go with her to make sure the tech knows that she has to put her head down. I am not so bad, but I never have given blood just in case. My daughter recently gave blood and it took four hours before she could stand up.
My daughter had a friend whose brother had a serious blood injury that required 911. When her friend came down the stairs to see what happened she passed out on the stairs and required 911 herself. !!!
So, I would teach her how to cover the blood, how to tell other people that she can't handle blood. Tell anyone who cares for her that she can't handle blood.
