Pain Flashcards
Acute pain
Protective nature, identifiable cause and recent onset. Most often a sign of tissue injury of some kind. Short duration and resolves as damaged tissue heals (less than 3-6 months).
Chronic pain
Either constant or intermittent but persists 3-6 months or more. Sometimes there is no specific cause or explanation. Other times, the pain persists because the painful condition is chronic, such as with cancer or arthritis. Can interfere with functioning and well-being.
Nociceptive pain
Pain that arises from damage to or inflammation of tissue other than that of the peripheral and central nervous systems. Nociceptive pain can be somatic (musculoskeletal) or visceral (internal organ) pain. Examples of nociceptive pain include pain from a surgical incision, a fracture, or a myocardial infarction.
Neuropathic pain
Nerve pain that arises from the somatosensory system described as intense, burning, and shooting. Examples include burning pain felt below the level of a spinal cord lesion, neuralgia, and neuropathy. Can be burning, tingling, or numbness or a pain shooting down an arm or a leg.
Cancer pain
A newly recognized category of pain that can involve tumor pain, bone pain, and treatment-associated pains such as chronic post-surgical pain. Usually due to tumor progression, as well as to the adverse effects of various treatment modalities.
Burn pain
Pain associated with burn injuries has been described as one of the most severe types of acute pain. The burn’s inflammatory response makes the pain especially intense during any type of manipulation of the injury, such as dressing changes.
Idiopathic pain
Chronic pain that persists in the absence of a detectable cause. An example of idiopathic pain is complex regional pain syndrome.
Phantom pain
The pain patients feel in the area where they previously had a limb that has been amputated. This is actually a form of neuropathic pain, but its unusual nature tends to put it in a class by itself.
Referred pain
Pain that originates elsewhere but is felt in another location considerably removed from the pain’s origin. An example is the pain a patient with gall bladder disease feels under the right shoulder blade.
Radiating pain
Pain perceived at the source and in tissues that are adjacent to the source. A common example is pain from a myocardial infarction that radiates to the arm.
Tolerance
Patient’s physiological response to the medication decreases after repeated administration. As a result, it often takes higher doses of the drug to produce the desired effect.
Drug dependence
when a patient actually needs a drug to function. If the patient stops taking the drug abruptly, withdrawal symptoms are expected, including irritability, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, delirium, muscle twitching, sweating, and convulsions
Addiction
A compulsive, inappropriate use of a substance. Chemical changes in the brain result in strong cravings compelling the person to use a substance, despite knowing that use of the substance is likely to have negative consequences.
Pain Threshold
The point at which a stimulus causes the client perceive pain
Pain Tolerance
How much of a stimulus the client is willing to accept.
