Strategies to Manage Pain – delete

What can I do to help someone with pain, right now?

If the person you are caring for is experiencing pain right now, consider the following tips. Remember, the person you are caring for knows their pain the best and they may have their own ideas on what works best to ease their pain.

https://h5p.org/h5p/embed/529035 Activity 2.4

How Do I Provide Ongoing Support

Finding ways to help the person you are caring for manage pain is not always straightforward. Sometimes you have to try a few different strategies before you get it right. It is well worth the effort to keep trying. Managing pain can dramatically improve a person’s quality of life.

Consider the following when helping someone manage their pain.

Monitor the pain and take notes.

• Note the date, time, severity, attempts to ease pain, any medicine taken, etc.
• Note what soothes the pain and what makes it worse.

Seek professional assessment.

Talk about it.

Clarify misunderstandings about pain.

Include as many strategies that will help.

Don’t lose hope.

Identifying Addiction to Pain Medication

It is a commonly held misbelief that taking pain medication will lead to addiction. While it is important to be aware of all medications being taken, why they are being taken, and their potential side effects, it is also important to understand the difference between becoming tolerant, dependent, and addicted to pain medications.

Tolerance occurs when a person requires larger amounts of a certain medication to ease their pain. This is a very common experience for people who have been taking pain medications for a long period of time and should not be mistaken for addiction.

If taken as prescribed, pain medication very rarely causes a person to become addicted. It is important to manage pain in order to support day-to-day function. If you or the person you are caring for have questions about pain medication, it is recommended that you ask a health care professional as soon as possible to avoid delaying pain management.