Calumet Surgery Center - Managing your child’s pain and assessing it



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	Overview Before the Day of Surgery Day of Surgery Instructions Managing Your Pain Managing Your Child's Pain Anesthesia Services

Your caregivers will ask your child to describe his or her pain, whenever possible, and will ask you and your child some of the following questions:

Where is the pain?
How severe is the pain on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 means no pain and 10 means worst possible pain)? Children under 4 years of age can often tell us that they are hurting, however, they usually cannot say how much pain they feel.
Describe the pain using words like sharp, dull, achy, stabbing or pinching.
When do you have the pain? When did the pain start? Do you have it all the time or does it come and go?
What makes your pain better or worse? Medication or a heating pad may help while food or activity may make the pain worse.
How does the pain affect your child’s behavior? Some children may show pain by holding or rubbing the spot where it hurts or making a face. You may also notice that the child is less active, eats less, is irritable or is not sleeping well. Other children may not show that they are having pain.
If your child has been on pain medication, have there been any side effects, such as drowsiness or constipation?