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Health Encyclopedia
Disclaimer: This fact sheet is for educational use only. Please consult your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child.
Key points to remember
- parents are often the best judges of their child's pain
- listen to what they tell you and watch what they do
- if worried or in doubt about your child's pain, talk to your local doctor or if you are in hospital, a nurse or doctor
- if you are unsure of whether or not to give any medication for your child's pain, it is best to get advice from your doctor
What is pain?
Very young children or children who are very sick cannot always tell us exactly what they are feeling. This can be quite distressing for parents who may feel confused about what their child is experiencing. Parents know their child's usual reactions and behaviours.
Many things affect a child's experience of pain:
- their age
- their beliefs and understanding of what is causing the pain
- their beliefs in their own ability to cope
- their previous pain experiences and how they have seen other people dealing with pain
- how they have learned to respond to pain
How long does pain last?
Acute pain
The term "acute pain" refers to pain that is not long-lasting. The pain may be caused by an operation, injury, illness, or medical procedure. Depending on what has caused the pain, the pain may last a few seconds (for example, a needle) through to a few weeks or months (for example, following an injury). Some pain from an operation is normal and is a part of the whole healing process. Acute pain can be helped with medications, which can be given by various methods. You can also help your child with acute pain by using non-drug methods such as relaxation and distraction techniques.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain lasts for a longer period of time, usually longer than three to six months. This pain can be constant or come and go at different times. It is sometimes difficult to find a cause for chronic pain. However there are treatments and special programs that can help your child cope better with chronic pain.
How do you know your child is in pain?
It is not always easy to know how much pain your child is experiencing. Listening to what they say and watching what they do can help us.
Things that can show that your child is in pain include:
- crying
- facial changes or pulling a face
- changes in their sleeping or eating patterns
- becoming quiet and withdrawn
- screaming
- refusing to move
Some children may tell us they are sore or hurting but may find it difficult to say how much they are hurting.
Remember that changes in their behaviour can also occur because they are scared or frightened.
Children can use a scale such as the Faces Pain Scale - Revised below. This will involve asking your child to point to the face that shows how much hurt they are feeling from "no pain" on the left through to "very much pain" on the right.
The Faces Pain Scale - Revised: Hicks, von Baeyer, Spafford, van Korlaar, Goodenough (2001)
What can be done to help your child when they are in pain?
There are three main ways of helping children in pain:- to give analgesics (medications for pain)
- physical methods such as massage, heat and cold
- use of psychological methods (see Children's painful procedures and operations - how can parents help? which describes psychological coping methods)
Often it is useful to use a combination of these methods.
Analgesics
Simple analgesics, such as paracetamol, can be given at home for minor injuries and illnesses. (You must follow the dosage instructions on the bottle. It is dangerous to give more than the recommended dose).
If a child is having an operation or planned procedure that may require a needle, it is common to use a local anaesthetic cream which numbs the skin so that it is less painful when the needle is inserted.
Pain following an operation or an injury can be reduced by giving analgesic medications of different kinds, in different ways and by different routes. The simple analgesics will usually not be enough for pain following an injury or operation. Stronger medications for pain such as codeine can be given by mouth. However, often after an operation the analgesia will need to be given via the intravenous route, by giving a continuous infusion or via a PCA (patient controlled analgesia) machine. The drugs used in this case are called opioids, with morphine and fentanyl being the most common ones used. Other more specialised ways of relieving post-operative pain, such as an epidural infusion, can be utilised but these would be discussed with you before the operation by the anaesthetist. you cannot give any medication without consult your doctor.
Physical
Touch and simple massage is something that we can all do to help a child in pain. Gently rubbing the affected area if there is no broken or damaged skin can be quite soothing and comforting. Heat packs can be very helpful for muscle pain, and cold or ice packs along with elevation can be used for things like sports injuries. It is important to keep in mind that these methods should not be used if there is any injured or broken skin.
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