Background: Fear of needles is a common occurring problem, in about 20-30% of the population, and for about 10% it is classified as a phobic disorder. This problem is rarely brought up in healthcare situations, and healthcare personnel rarely ask if people have some degree of needle fear. The background also brings up the essence of nursing and Erikssons nursing theory of suffering.

Aim: The aim of this study is to illustrate the experiences of people with needle fear.

Method: Literature review of 10 articles were conducted, from the databases CINAHL and PubMed. The articles were quality controlled and then analyzed. The articles were then split up into themes.

Results: The results of this study are split up in three different themes; My healthcare meetings, My reactions and My strategies. The results show that persons with needle fear often experienced fainting, anxiety, and fear in treatments involving needles. This fear is often based on earlier trauma caused by healthcare personnel, either in childhood or as an adult. This fear could lead to an avoidance of healthcare, vaccines, and medical treatments with injections.

Conclusion: Needle fear is often caused by an earlier trauma caused by healthcare personnel, due to roughness or causing pain for the patient. This can be avoided if the nurse is inquiring about previous experiences regarding needles and injections and using pain-relieving and diverting methods, to reduce care-related discomfort.