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Published on: March 12, 2016
Vasovagal syncope evoked by needle phobia when inserting a contact lens
Tatsuya Mimura1, Hideharu Funatsu, Satoru Yamagami
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, 7-3-1- Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655 Japan. mimurat-tky@umin.ac.jp
Purpose:
To report a patient who fell unconscious because of vasovagal syncope evoked by needle phobia when he tried to wear contact lenses.
Case Reports:
A 16-year-old healthy boy had sometimes experienced dizziness when looking at the tips of pens. When he put his finger and the lens close to his eye to insert a soft contact lens, he felt sick and dizzy and fell unconscious.
Conclusion:
Our experience suggests that patients with needle phobia may develop vasovagal syncope by concentrating on a fingertip when inserting a contact lens. We need to be aware of unconsciousness because of phobia when trying to insert contact lenses.
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