Fear of Needles?
I'd like to try acupuncture but what if I am scared of needles?
Many of us are reluctant to seek acupuncture treatments because we are afraid of needles. But why are we afraid?
For some of us, needlephobia stems from traumatic events in our lives like receiving immunization shots as a child, aneasthesia shots from the dentist or worse other painful injections (in the toe perhaps for an ingrown toenail). Thus, our brains associate needles with pain and very uncomfortable situations. Luckily, acupuncture performed correctly by a professional causes almost no pain. Why is this the case?

First of all, medical hypodermic needles are 21 gauge or .81mm in diameter VS the 36 gauge or 0.2mm solid point acupuncture needles that we use. Ours are four (4) times smaller in thickness! And since acupuncture needles are solid, round-point, it does not "break" the skin like the hollow-point, wedge-point needles above.
Furthermore, needles inserted into exact acupressure points yield no pain at all compared to needles inserted into other parts. Therefore, a smaller needle inserted into the correct points in the body greatly reduces and most of the time completely eliminates the uncomfort from needles.
If I am still uncomfortable with needles are there other alternatives in Chinese Traditional medicine?
Yes, there are many other options without needles. These other Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques may also compliment acupuncture needle treatments.