Should children be spared the pain of the needle?

June 27, 2007 Most adults hate doctor’s needles and for children the fear is even more acute. But are they always the best form of treatment? A world-first study published by the University of Nottingham suggests that in some cases children who are spared this pain are more likely to recover faster. The research found that children suffering from pneumonia – a disease that affects two-and-a-half million children each year in Europe alone – who were given oral treatment as an alternative to injections recovered as quickly, suffered less pain, required less oxygen therapy in hospital and were able to go home sooner.

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