We care about your child’s comfort. You know your child best. We want to partner with you to help control your child’s pain. If you have questions or concerns, please let your child’s nurse know. While we may not be able to totally get rid of all your child’s pain, we can reduce it.
Pain Assessment
The first step is to assess your child’s pain using pain scales. The type of scale we use is based on your child’s age, ability to communicate and preference. The pain scale you choose is used the whole time your child is in the hospital, unless your child’s condition changes.
Goals
We work with you and your child to come up with a goal for pain control.
Making a Plan
We will use medicine and non-drug methods to control your child’s pain. We will ask you what has worked before to control your child’s pain and put that into your child’s plan of care, if we are able to. We will also teach you about other methods for pain control. Often, medicine combined with other comfort methods will give the best pain relief.
If you think your child needs pain medicine, please let your child’s nurse know. In the hospital, a doctor must order pain medicine before a nurse can give it to a patient. Your child’s nurse works with you to decide what is needed. In clinic, your child’s doctor or nurse talks with you about a pain medicine plan.
What You Can Do
You can use some simple methods to comfort and distract your child if they seem to be in pain.
Repositioning
Singing or soft music
Gentle stroking
Rocking with your child in a rocking chair
Swaddling
Holding a comfort item or blanket
Watching a movie
Reading a book
Other things you do at home to comfort your child
Ask about our non-drug pain control options for kids. The nurse, nursing assistant or child life specialist can help you choose the best tools and show you how to use them.
Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 0-10
This scale is normally used for children over eight years old. We ask your child to rate their pain from no pain to the worst possible pain. Sometimes, many factors can go into choosing that number. These may include:
Fear
Concern that someone will cause more pain
Belief that no one believes them
Stress of being in the hospital
Being away from loved ones
If, at any age, you think your child cannot use this scale, it is ok to use the Pain Faces Scale Revised. Let your child’s nurse know if a pain scale is not working so they can make a change. The pain scale is just a tool to help us talk with you and your child about your child’s pain.
