Waxman D
Postgrad Med J. 1978 May;54(631):328-30. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.54.631.328.
The less disabling phobias do not normally present a problem in that the stimulus may be avoided. This would also apply to hospital phobia until an acute medical or surgical problem might arise, when avoidance could constitute a direct threat to life. Although phobic illness is a common problem the small number of cases of hospital phobia recorded may represent the tip of the iceberg beneath which could be many phobic patients who deny their symptoms and risk their health because of their irrational fear. A case of hopsital phobia in a pregnant patient with suspected disproportion was treated by a rapid desensitization technique using hypnosis. After five sessions of 30 min each, the patient was symptom free. This simple method of desensitization, if more widely known would considerably minimize the risk caused by concealment of the phobic problem.
致残性较低的恐惧症通常不会造成问题，因为可以避开刺激源。这同样适用于医院恐惧症，直到出现急性医疗或外科问题，此时回避可能对生命构成直接威胁。尽管恐惧症是一个常见问题，但记录在案的医院恐惧症病例数量较少，可能只是冰山一角，其下可能有许多恐惧症患者因非理性恐惧而否认症状并危及自身健康。一名疑似骨盆狭窄的孕妇患有医院恐惧症，采用催眠快速脱敏技术进行治疗。经过五次每次30分钟的治疗后，患者症状消失。这种简单的脱敏方法如果更广为人知，将能大大降低因隐瞒恐惧问题而造成的风险。
