Pain Management

Definition:

Pain is an unpleasent experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.

Types:

There are so many types, according to severity, onset, nature and continuity:

1. According to severity:

• Mild.

• Moderate.

• Severe.

2. According to severity:

• Cramping pain.

• Pricking pain.

• Tingling pain.

• Radiating pain.

• Throbbing pain.

• Aching pain.

• Burning pain.

3. According to Onset:

• Acute.

• Chronic.

• According to continuity:

• Continuous or constant pain.

• Periodic or intermittent.

Sign and Symptoms:

• Restlessness.

• Excessive sweating.

• Nausea.

• Disturbance in consciousness.

• Skin colour may be change (Blue).

• Posture change.

• Crying.

• Patient feels isolation.

Managements:

<> Medical Management:

• Provide Analgesic drugs

• Opioid drugs e.g Codeine, morphine, methadone, etc

• Non-Opioid drugs e.g Diclofenac sodium, aceclofenac, Ibuprofen, nimuslide.

• Anaesthetic agent in severe pain.

NB: General Anaesthesia (GA) is defined as the administration of agents/drugs or volatile gases to put an individual asleep for a certain period of time. Following administration of either intravenous of volatile anesthetics, there will be reversible loss of consciousness, amnesia, loss of pain sensation and hypnosis (Thronton, 2014).

<> Nursing Management:

   1. Nursing Assessment:

• Assess vital sign of Patient.

• Assess ABC (airway, breathing, circulation).

• Evaluate pain using PQRSTmnemonics:

   P- Provokes, Precipitates

   Q- Quality

   R- Radiation, region

   S- Severity

   T- Time (onset, duration).

• Assess Pain score using:

A pain rating tool, such as the verbal rating scale (VRS), numerate rating scale (NRS), visual analogue scale (VAS).

2. Nursing Interventions:

• Establish a supportive relationship with the patient.

• Serve prescribed analgesics drugs.

• Monitor the patient's response to and effectiveness of treatment.

• Respect the patient's response to pain or listen carefully patient's problem.

• Educate the patient regarding methods of pain relieving other than pharmacological, e.g. Music/T.V.

• Diet modification.

• Counseling.

• Gentle massage.

• Hot/cold compress.

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