Pain History and Pain Assessments Are Important Tools to Share With Doctors

Pain History

There are a number of points that should be mentioned in your pain history:

• All important details, previous and present, relating to the pain and their effect, good or bad, on the patient. 
• List of all the treatments already carried on the patient and their results.
• Patient’s reaction to anxiolytics, opioids, or other medications and also a record of any allergies.
• How does the patient deal with pain or stress and if the patient displays any signs of anxiety, psychosis, or depression?
• Family beliefs and expectations regarding stress, postoperative course, and pain.
• How does the patient shows or describes the pain?
• The extent of patient’s knowledge, their expectations, and their preferences, if any, of the different pain management plans. Also, how the patient receives information about pain management.

Pain Assessment Tools

There are a number of pain assessment tools that help to determine the severity of pain so that type and dosage of medication may be determined accordingly. Pain assessment tool should be selected with a joint decision of health care provider and patient during the preoperative period so that the patient is aware of the procedure. 

The chosen pain tool should regularly be applied to assess pain and to find out the effects of medications. Quality and location of pain also help to select interventions perfect for pain management. Patients may feel chronic pain due to the positioning of the body during the procedure or may feel nerve-related pain which can be a burning or shooting pain.

Pain hinders carrying out routine daily activities, and the main purpose of pain management is to allow patients to enjoy life and to maintain a positive attitude. It is imperative for a patient to be able to perform day to day activities, enjoy enough sleep and to have a positive mood after surgery.

Pain management requires a disciplined approach. The results of pain assessment and a written record of treatments should be maintained to keep the doctors fully informed about the patient’s progress and also to help in follow-up.