Comfort Flashcards
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
Pain
3 categories of pain
Duration
Acute
Chronic
3 responses to pain
Physiologic - change in vital signs
Behavioral - voluntary.
ex.) grimacing, moaning, crying, moving away from painful stimuli
Affective - more physiological response
ex.) caused fear, anger, depression, or withdrawal
When should pain be assessed?
At regular intervals.
With each new report of pain.
After each pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention.
Pain assessment - step 1
Intensity.
Use a pain scale to rate the intensity of pain
Pain assessment - step 2
Location(s)
Pain assessment - step 3
Aggravating/Alleviating factors.
ex.) What makes the pain better or worse?
Do any non-pharmacological methods help?
Breakthrough Pain
When a patient got pain meds at 6 am and the meds are not due again until noon, but they are complaining of severe pain at 10 am.
Physical Dependence
NOT ADDICTION.
When a patient is discharged from the hospital and has had a PCA for several days, it gets turned off. The patient’s body will go through withdrawal, and we will need to administer oral morphine for the body to not go into withdrawal.
Psychological Dependence
This is addiction.
Tolerence
A larger dose of opioid is required to maintain the same level of analgesia (seen mostly with chronic pain patients)
Somatic pain
Aching, deep, dull, throbbing, stabbing.
ex.) muscle, tendon, bone injuries
Visceral pain
Cramping, squeezing, pressure
ex.) gallstones, kidney stones, pancreatitis
Neuropathic pain
Burning, numbness, radiating, shooting, tingling, touch sensitive
ex.) herpes zoster, peripheral neuropathy
Cutaneous pain
Superficial, skin, or subcutaneous tissue.
Sharp with a burning sensation
