Hack The Vax

Pain management and needle anxiety tools for 25% of adults that struggle with needle fear.

Breathing and calming Distraction Getting ready for a procedure Needle Pokes Numbing creams and sprays Talking with your care team Vaccinations Vibration and cold Procedural Pain Adult Resource Breathing and calming Distraction Getting ready for a procedure Needle pokes Numbing creams and sprays Talking with your care team Vaccinations Vibration and cold

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About This Resource

One in FOUR adults struggles with needle fear, and that can affect their healthcare decisions. Most people don’t realized how common this is and don’t know that there are simple, effective ways to make this experience a lot better. Good pain management skills can help in a BIG ways to make shots and medical procedures a much better experience. This mini-website and cool piece of interactive tech gives all the research backed strategies and how they can be put into action.

How To Use This Resource

Just click and go. You can scroll the website and/or just click on the interactive plan builder tool. You make choices, and can email the plan to yourself!

Who Is This For

While anyone can use it, it usually appeal to adults and teens. Providers can send it to patients who struggle with needle anxiety, and for parents of kids with needle fear/medical anxiety.

Downloads

Hack The Vax On The Go!

This free download recaps all the ways you can feel more comfortable and in control during your next needle poke.

Downloads

Hack the Vax Partner Kit

All you need to use our Hack the Vax resources for you and your community

Podcast

UCLA Live Well: Pain Management and How to #HacktheVax

Pain expert Dr. Jody Thomas talks with Dr. Wendy Slusser on the UCLA Live Well Podcast

Digital Tool

SuperMeg Poke Planner

Have no fear, SuperMeg is here! This interactive tech helps your child create a plan for being more calm and comfortable during needle pokes.

Video

The Warning Signal

Learning HOW pain works helps give you ways to control it.

Video

Using Vibration To Block the Pain Signal!

Yes, it really works. This shows you how.

Explore All of Our Procedural Pain Resources »

A Note About Keeping This Free

Good pain care should be a right, not a privilege.

We’ve spent our careers treating pain and medical anxiety, and we know that comfort and control come from putting the power where it belongs: in your hands. Everything here is free and open source by design. No parent should have to pay to learn how to get their child through a vaccine or a bad headache. No provider should have to hunt for what they need to do their job well. Hundreds of thousands of people have used Meg tools, and not one of them has ever been asked to pay.

But free still costs something.

We rely on the generosity of people like you to keep it that way. It takes about 1 in 30 of us, each giving $15 a month, to keep these tools available for free. If they helped you and you’re able, $15 a month keeps these resources available the next time you or another family need them.

Thanks for being here. Whether you are able to give or not, I’m so grateful a kid somewhere has you in their corner.

— Dr. Jody, Founder and CEO

Monthly. Cancel anytime.

Or give once, any amount.

Meg Foundation is a 501(c)(3). Gifts are tax-deductible. Secure Givebutter checkout.