In This Issue:

1. The Myth:  Pain is Part of Aging

2. The Benefits of Pain: An Attention Getter

3. Numeric Pain Scale

4. How to Treat Pain?

5. Internet Resources

Get Rid of Pain is SAFE Aging's theme of the month. In this issue, we break a myth about pain and discuss problems and benefits of pain. We give ideas on how to describe pain, how to get rid of pain, and when to seek attention for pain. Read on! Like us? Please refer our free newsletter to your friends and colleagues! Hello to all our friends around the world!

1. The Myth: Pain is Part of Aging

Contrary to common belief, aches and pains are not a normal part of aging. Age alone does not mean a person automatically gets pain. Therefore, it is a myth to expect pain with aging!

Pain is a red flag that points to the presence of a disease, illness or injury. An older person who experiences pain, should be evaluated by a physician to find the cause.

Treatment to manage pain should be just as aggressive as at is for younger person's experiencing pain.

Types of Pain

Acute pain means it is usually limited to a short time period and severity. Acute pain may be caused by an injury, such as a muscle sprain, or a broken bone. It can also be caused by an inflammation, or may be a result of surgery. Acute pain is usually limited to a short time period and severity and the pain goes away.

Chronic pain generally happens over a long period of time. It is difficult to medically treat or manage. Chronic pain can be very limiting, and gets in the way of doing valued daily life activities. Chronic pain is often caused by disease, or may be the result after serious injuries, accidents or surgeries. Chronic pain can be made worse by other psychological issues related to the effects of pain on daily life.

Problems Due to Pain

• Pain hurts!

• Pain is annoying.

• Pain can reduce abilities to actively participate in daily life

• At home

• At work

• At play

• In the community

• Pain can make life miserable. It can

• cause intense physical and emotional suffering

• cause severe depression

• make a person pray for death as a better alternative

• make a person choose death

• drastically change lives

• Medical experts have not found a way to entirely eliminate pain.

Pain can't be objectively measured

• There is no way to tell how much pain a person has other than by description
   

• No test can measure the intensity of pain
   

• No imaging device can show pain (although science is getting much closer to this)
   

• No one else can really feel the exact pain another person is experiencing

Ø Back to Top

2. The Benefits of Pain: An Attention Getter

Think of pain as a bright red warning flag! Pain is meant to get your attention. Pain sounds an alarm. The alarm, in the form of pain, warns the brain of danger!!!! When pain happens, the brain interprets the message in different ways, such as the following:

Whatever "pain" message you get, don't ignore it! Find the cause of your pain, and do what you can to get rid of pain quickly. If you can't get rid of your pain quickly, make an appointment to see your doctor for some preventive medical testing.

Good News about Pain

1. Accurate descriptions of pain help health care professionals find the cause.
    

2. Health care professionals can order specific tests based on pain descriptions.
    

3. Tests can be used to find the cause of pain.
    

4. Finding the cause can lead to pain management treatments.
    

5. Pain management can lead to getting the body's "balance" back.
    

6. When pain is gone, balance has returned.

Ø Back to Top

3. Numeric Pain Scale

One common way to describe pain is by using a number on a scale of 0 to 10. Each number represents how much pain you feel. If you rated your pain as a 10, you would be describing your pain as the worst pain you could imagine. The pain would be excruciating, horrible, etc.

A one (1) would be a very, very little bit of pain, maybe just noticeable to you. A two (2) would be a bit more, and so on.

A five (5) is the middle of the scale and it means moderate pain. An eight (8) is pain that is pretty severe, but is still not the worst most agonizing pain you could imagine.

How much does it hurt?

One way to describe pain is to describe it by numbers from 0 to 10.

Pain Drawing

The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has devised a visual way to describe where your pain using a "pain drawing."

Use the picture of the front and the back of a person to mark the location of your pain, and to describe how it hurts and how much it hurts.

This is good for everyone, and useful for the grand kids, too!

Pain Drawing - American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Ø Back to Top

4. How to Treat Pain?

There is no simple answer. Treatment depends on many different factors such as:

So, there is not one answer. If pain is a 1, 2 or 3 on the pain scale, you might be able to try over the counter (OTC) pain relief medications such as aspirin, Tylenol, or other such medications.

For more info about OTC medications and pain relief, check this link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/overthecountermedicines.html

Options to Treat Pain

There are many pain treatment options. Some pain treatment options can be used in combinations with others. Choosing the "right" treatment at the "wrong" time can be just as damaging as not doing any treatment at all.

If basic first aid principles are not enough to treat pain, it is best to seek the advice of a health care professional to first learn the cause of pain, then to learn how to safely treat the pain.

First-Aide Guide

Refer to MayoClinic.com's First-Aide Guide for some good information.  It provides easy to read and understand instructions on what to do in emergencies from bee stings to tooth aches.

Pain Control Tips

Any pain that interferes with doing daily life activities is worthy of attention. All effort should be made to quickly get rid of the pain.

Minor Pain Relief

If your pain is slight (minor, minimal, 3 or less on the numeric pain scale)

and

If you know the cause of your pain

and

If the pain was not a result of a serious injury

Then...

Here are a variety of pain relief options you have available:

1. Warm baths
    

2. Relaxation techniques (i.e.,)

• Meditation
   

• Visualization
   

• Progressive relaxation

3. Adjust physical activity (activity may need to be done differently)

• Change posture
   

• Change amount of physical effort you are exerting (more or less)
   

• Change the frequency you do a task (more or less)
   

• Change the environment surrounding the task (more space)
   

• Do more/do less activity

4. Use only recommended doses of non-prescription over the counter (OTC) pain relievers

• Be sure (OTC) drugs are not a bad mix with other medications you take

5. Apply ice to the painful area (if pain is new- depends on location-BEWARE)
    

6. Apply heat to the painful area (if pain is more than a day old)

Frequent Minor Pain (Unknown Cause)

It is always better to be safe, than sorry.

If you experience frequent minor pain, that has not gone away with basic self treatment, and you do not know the reason, be sure to:

1. See your doctor, as soon as possible

2. Be prepared to describe the pain in detail

When to Get Immediate Medical Attention for Pain

DO NOT DELAY
Get IMMEDIATE medical attention if

1. You believe the pain might be a sign of a

• heart attack

• stroke

• or similar medical emergeny

2. Get immediate medical attention

• The pain lasts even after you have rested and tried self-treatments and recommended doses of over-the counter (OTC) pain relievers.

• You have an infection. (Symptoms of an infection include redness, swelling, and warmth in the painful area.)

• You have had a recent fall or injury.

• You have a change in sensation (such as experiencing numbness or severe pain).

• You have a history of cancer.

3. You do not know the cause of pain that you rate as

• Moderate

• Moderately severe

• Severe

• Unbearable

• The worst pain you have ever had

Daily Pain Diary

The American Geriatrics Society has a useful form to help you to keep a record of your daily pain. This can be very helpful for your doctor to determine the cause of your pain. View the "Daily Pain Diary"

Ø Back to Top

5. Internet Resources 

• Need help to find ways in your daily life to cope with pain?  Contact an occupational therapist for help.
   
• This Medline link has a wide variety of very useful and interesting information and other links about pain and pain management.
   
• This provides some information about the use of over the counter medications used for pain control.
   

• The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has a wonderful link about chronic pain which was one of the resources we used for this month's newsletter. For more specific details about pain, please refer to this excellent site.
   

• This is an index of National Institutes of Health publications about pain symptoms, conditions and treatments. This is a very interesting and fascinating resource.
   

• Pain Drawing: http://www.aapmr.org/condtreat/pain/paindrawing.htm

• http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/spwpd/hlth_med/chcc/home.shtml
   

• DailyPain Diary

Ø Back to Top

Enjoy our newsletter?

Then get it delivered to your inbox every month, for free!

Simply visit any page on our website (www.safeaging.com) and enter your email address in the "Join Our Mailing List" sign up box. It's that easy!  SAFE Aging will never share your information with other companies--confidentiality is assured. Refer your friends, families, and associates too!

Ø Back to Top

Wherever You Go! 
Carry Your Medical & Emergency Info!
www.MedicTag911.com

MedicTag is a portable digital medical alert device that plugs into a computer or laptop USB port and provides instant access to vital emergency info when needed the most.

ONLY $34.95 + s/h

No annual fees!

Ø Back to Top

Article Submissions

We invite interested authors to submit theme based articles for the SAFE Aging newsletter. Please send submissions in either .doc or .rtf format, Arial 10pt. font, and with a 300 word maximum. Articles should be written in an easy to read format to meet the needs of a varied readership including seniors, family members of seniors, caregivers and other senior service providers.  

Topics should in some way be related to health, safety or injury prevention. Articles may not be an advertisement for services and must be informative or helpful. Author photo and contact information may be included. 

There is no guarantee that submitted articles will be published. Generally, articles will be held until the appropriate monthly theme. All articles become the property of SAFE Aging and are subject to editing.

We now have advertising opportunities based on monthly, semi-annual or annual advertising rates. Please contact newsletter@safeaging.com for details.

Ø Back to Top