Question

A. Name some of the effects pain can have on one’s daily life.

B. Describe five factors and how they affect pain perception and pain relief.

C. Compare the signs and symptoms of acute pain to those of chronic pain.

D. It is 1:00 a.m., and one of the elderly patients on your unit is unable to sleep tonight. He tells you that he is worried about his cat at home. He knows his neighbor is feeding the cat each day, but he is concerned that the cat is lonesome without him. You know that the patient needs restorative sleep to help him recover from a urinary tract infection. What interventions might you try to help him get some rest?

Answer 1

A) Effects pain can have on one’s daily life.

Pain, when it is ongoing and uncontrolled, has a detrimental, deteriorative effect on virtually every aspect of a patient's life. It produces anxiety and emotional distress; undermines well-being; interferes with functional capacity; and hinders the ability to fulfill family, social, and vocational roles. Here are some of the domains pain affects daily life.

1. Physical:

             Pain and discomfort

             Sexual activity

             Rest and sleep

2. Psychological

Self esteem

Thinking learning memory

Body image, appearance

3. Level of independence

Mobility

Activities of daily living

             Communication capacity.

4. Social Relationships

Personal relationship

Practical social support.

5. Environmental Health

Physical safety and security.

Financial resources.

Transport

B) Five factors and how they affect pain perception and pain relief.

Age:

· Development differences influence how children and older adults react to pain.

· Young children have trouble understanding pain and procedures that we administer that may cause pain.

· Older adults can suffer serious loss of functional status as a results of pain

Gender:

Compared to men, women report more pain and have a lower pain threshold and tolerance to experimental pain stimuli. Research also has found that physicians and nurses prescribe less pain medications to women than men.

Anxiety:

Elevated anxiety levels increase pain perception. In addition pain may also cause anxiety. A stressful environment such as hospital or the attitude of nurse may increase client’s anxiety and decrease their tolerance to pain.

Previous experience:

· Each person learns from painful experience. It does not necessarily mean that a personal will accept pain more easily in future.

A client who has had no experience with a particular type of pain may have as impaired ability to cope with it.

Family and social support:

· Parents and attitude of significant others also affect pain response

· An absence of family members or friends can often make the pain more stressful.

C) Comparison of signs and symptoms of acute pain to those of chronic pain.

Signs and symptoms of acute pain includes:

· Flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, sore throat, cough)

· Less than three months in length

· Responsive to many treatments

· Fatigue.

· Numbness.

· Muscle spasms.

· Insomnia.

· Weight loss.

· Anxiety.

· Depression.

Sign and Symptoms of chronic pain includes:

· Present for most days over the past six months

· Unresponsive to many treatments

· joint pain.

· muscle aches.

· burning pain.

· fatigue.

· sleep problems.

· loss of stamina and flexibility, due to decreased activity.

· mood problems, including depression, anxiety, and irritability.

D) Interventions to try to help him get some rest includes

Ø Introduce relaxing activities such as warm bath, calm music, reading a book, and relaxation exercises before bedtime because these activities provide relaxation and distraction from worries and prepare mind and body for sleep.

Ø Encourage patient to take milk before going to bed because L-tryptophan is a component of milk which promotes sleep.

Ø Instruct the patient to follow a consistent daily schedule for rest and sleep.

Ø Inhibit the patient from daytime naps unless needed.

Ø Suggest an environment conducive to rest or sleep.

Ø Prevent the patient from thinking about his cat and worrying by accompanying him or any distracting thoughts at bedtime.

Ø Suggest patient to get out of bed temporarily and perform a relaxing activity if unable to sleep 30-45 minutes in bed.

Ø Give psychological support and educate patient about requirement of sleep.