Doctors Employ New Techniques To Take The Pain Out Of Getting A Shot

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- No one likes to get shots -- not adults, and definitely not children.

With the CDC recommending against the nasal spray flu vaccine for kids this year, kids may need to get another shot.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, there are ways to make shots less traumatic.

If you're old enough you might remember being held down while the doctor gave you ca shot.

That kind of trauma probably accounts for a lot of needle-phobia that follows people into adulthood.

But what if you could make shots for your child no big deal? There are ways to do that.

Frankie Gaughen, 9, is typically afraid to get his flu shot, but a buzzy bee with cold pack wings is helping change that.

The bee can be used as an alternative to topical numbing medication, which takes 20 minutes to take effect while a child's anxiety over getting the shot grows.

"You barely feel it, like, you feel nothing," Frankie said.

"It's to sort of scramble the pain response that your body feels, so you feel the cold and the buzzing and not necessarily the pain from the injection," Dr. Melissa Winterhalter explained.

The bee is one of several techniques that Dr. Winterhalter uses at Nationwide Children's Hospital to help kids and parents have a more pleasant experience with shots, and they vary with age.

"Infants and newborns find a lot of comfort on being swaddled, using a pacifier, nursing or breastfeeding for pain reduction. Children respond well to distraction techniques, playing music, singing, blowing bubbles," Dr. Winterhalter said. "Older children like to have more control and know what's coming, so explaining the process to them, providing some guided imagery, talking about things that they like."

Having doctors, nurses, and parents on the same page will take the sting out of getting the flu shot for everyone.

"Just try different things until you see what works. I think every kid is different," Callista Dammann said.

Think it won't work with your child? A distraction with an iPad and blocking the site of a needle can make something like putting in an IV almost simple.

Another approach uses a vibrating wand to distract the child and confuse the sensations traveling to the brain.

There are other devices that help, and every child is different so what works for one may not work for another.

Pediatricians said it's important for parents to communicate with them to take the sting out of shots for kids because vaccines are an essential part of keeping a child healthy.