Analgesic Agents Flashcards
What are A fibers?
Fibers that carry perception of vibration, stretch and pressure.
There are four types : Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma.
What is A-delta fibers?
Fibers that carry the sensation of pain to the spinal cord - usually acute sharp pain.
What are C Fibers?
Unmyelinated nerve fibers - these have a slower conduction due to being unmyelinated. They also carry pain sensation, however it is more of a slow, dull and aching pain.
What is Ergot derivative?
Drug that helps with migraines by causing vasoconstriction in the brain and peripheral areas., however there are a lot of adverse effects associated with these.
What is the gate control theory
The concept that pain is not just about how much damage the tissues receive, but about how pain is transmitted though the nerve fibers and there are ways that we can close the pain gate with alternative means.
For example: if those nerve fibers are stimulated via massage or heath, they are distracted and won’t send the pain signal, or the pain signal will be overwhelmed by the other signals.
What is a Migraine Headache?
Severe unilateral pain in the head that leads to other effects such as nausea, vomiting and photophobia and is usually caused by arterial dilation.
What’s Nociception?
Transmission of unpleasant stimuli to the brain.
What are opioid agonists?
Drugs that enhance opioid receptors
What are opioid agonists-antagonists?
Drugs that both enhances and decreases opioid receptors site activity. They will enhance some sites while inhibiting other sites.
What are opioid antagonists?
Drugs that block opioid receptor sites - these are used to treat opioid OD’s.
What are opioid receptors?
The nerve receptor sites that react with endorphins and encephalins, which are the same sites that react to opioid drugs.
Define pain.
Sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
What is the Spinothalamic tract?
The nerve pathway that travels from the spine through the thalamus to the brain,
What is Triptan?
a selective serotonin blocker that causes vasoconstriction in the brain and it is used as medication for migraines.
What is pain?
Pain can be physical or emotional and differs from person to person. Each person perceives it differently.
what can often affect the treatment that patients receive by nurses for their pain?
Preconceived notions of pain by the nurse. This can often result in the patient not getting the treatment that they need. When a patient tells us that they are in pain, we need to take it seriously. This is especially prevalent in the different socioeconomic groups.
What are two times of pain duration?
Acute & Chronic
What is acute pain normally caused by?
Generally cause by new tissue damage. Its letting you know that an injury has occured and you should stop doing the thing that is causing the injury or get away from it.
How do we define chronic pain?
Can be consistent or inconsistent and usually last longer than 3 months. It can affect a persons ADL’s, interrupt sleep and reduce quality of life.
How does drugs used to relieve pain work?
All intended to interrupt or distort the perception of pain in the brain and spinal cord in some way. It works in the CNS to alter the way pain impulses are processed.
Why do we use opioids?
Opium derivatives used to treat many types of pain
What do we use Antimigraine Drugs for?
Reserved for the treatment of migraine headaches.
Explain the Gate- Control Theory of pain in detail.
Its the idea that if we look at how pain is transmitted through the different nerves and nerve types. we can interrupt the pain signal, particularly if we stimulate the A fibers.
The Delta A fibers are responsible for acute pain, and so we can overpower these smaller slower A delta pain signals by stimulating the A fibers more.
The pain signals being sent out from the CNS can be modified using norepinephrine and serotonin, which is why some antidepressants can work for pain management.
What is the reason pain can differ from person to person?
There are many factors that can affect the descending pain signal. some of these are learned experiences, cultural expectations, individual tolerance and the placebo effect.
This is who some treatments work well for some patients and not at all for others.