Chronic illness hurts. That much is clear. But how much does
it hurt, and what’s the best way to let others (particularly medical
professionals) know how much it hurts?
Surely we’ve all seen the pain
assessment charts that show ranges of faces, from happy to sad. (The
original version, designed for evaluating medical discomfort in children, has
been widely credited to Wong-Baker.) Some
contain five different faces, while others have 10. Either way, the array of
expressions is supposed to help a person to quantify his or her current level
of pain.
Sounds simple, right?
Not exactly.
What about the widely ranging pain tolerance thresholds of
individual people? Don’t we all know someone who screams bloody murder over a
splinter in a finger? What about the person who barely grimaces over a serious
sprain or a broken bone?
And how about the whirling waves of come-and-go pain, the intermittent
stings and spasms that seem to be a hallmark of MS and other neurological
disorders, and the unpleasant pins-and-needles episodes that crop up without
warning? These inconsistent, but persistent, pains can be difficult to measure.
Still, it’s a start.
Image/s:
Adapted
from public domain artwork and photo
You are invited to join the Kicking
MS to the Curb page on Facebook and the Making the
Most of MS board on Pinterest.
Thank you for sharing such wonderful information! Being a nurse is a challenging job, so it must be a great passion and good dedication that makes one can pass all the difficulties.
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