Needle Pokes Archives | Meg Foundation

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Versus: How Can We Help You?

A comic about the hard parts of pain and medical care, and the free tools that make them easier.

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Held Down: A Point-of-View Comic

A comic that explores an adult recalling an early childhood memory about being held down at the doctor's office.

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Podcast

Educated Parent Podcast: The Parent’s Guide to Back to School Shots

Dr. Jody joins Dr. Leah Clionsky to walk parents through back to school shots: how to build a poke plan, what comfort positions do, and what to ask for at the visit.

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Comfort Plan for Blood Tests

Blood tests are one of the most common pokes kids face. Use this to help them plan how they want to be comfortable before the next one.

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Blog Post

Tackling Needle Pain—Before, During, and After: A Q&A with the Founder of Thimble

Dr. Dawkins built Thimble to tackle what most numbing products ignore: fast, mess-free pain relief designed specifically for needle procedures—before and after the shot.

Resource

Headache Procedure Comfort Plan

This Headache Procedure Comfort Menu helps people of all ages feel more prepared and supported during treatments like Botox and nerve blocks. It offers simple, science-backed strategies to reduce stress and improve comfort.

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Headache Procedures Numbing Cream Guide

This easy-to-follow guide shows how to use numbing cream to reduce pain during headache procedures like Botox and nerve blocks. It helps patients feel more prepared, empowered, and comfortable.

Resource

Momwell Podcast: Pain Management During Shots for Kids with Dr. Jody

This episode of the Momwell Podcast dives into a topic close to every parent's heart: helping kids feel confident and calm during medical visits—especially when it comes to needles.

Blog Post

Chronic Pain Is On The Rise—Here’s What You Can Do About It Now

Earlier this week, The Washington Post featured a startling stat in their Big Number series: nearly 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. experienced chronic pain last year. And that is up from 20.4% in 2019! Let that sink in.

Blog Post

Nine reasons why pain management is a big deal

Even though we all live with it, we still get asked—usually by someone who isn’t currently in pain—‘Is it really that big a deal?’ As a pain nonprofit, we can say with complete confidence: Heck yes, it is!

Podcast

The Child Psych Podcast: Helping Kids Overcome a Fear of Needles and Health Procedures

Discover how to help your kids manage pain and anxiety with practical coping strategies from Dr. Jody, starting with their first healthcare experiences.

Blog Post

Can holding children down for shots traumatize them? A health psychologist says yes.

I’m a health psychologist and expert in medical illness, trauma, and pain, with 25 years of experience. If I could wipe out any practice that happens on the daily in medicine, VERY high on my list is holding down kids for medical procedures. While science and best practice guidelines from top medical organizations clearly say holding down kids is a terrible idea, it still happens every single day.

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