Recognizing Chronic Pain In Children

Most adults can recognize pain which is why they are able to remedy it at once or make an appointment with their doctors like Theodore DaCosta from Gastro Center NJ. However, the situation in children is different. As parents, recognizing aches and discomfort being experienced by your child could be difficult, specifically since children react to pain in a different way as compared to adults. There are children who wouldn’t want to talk about pain to avoid paying their pediatrician a visit.

It is more challenging to recognize discomfort and aches in younger children since their vocabulary to clearly voice out the pain they feel may have not developed yet, especially about where and how they feel.

Just like in adults, there are also numerous of probable reasons for persistent or chronic pain in children. This includes their medical condition or the condition of their mental wellbeing, like anxiety or depression.

Recognizing Chronic Pain in Children

In children, pain that is chronic often shows as headaches which includes migraines, stomachache or other digestive or gastrointestinal discomforts, or back pains as well as in the legs and arms. When children complain of pain, it is imperative that you carefully listen to them and observe for indications of pain to immediately identify and remedy the medical cause of the discomfort or pain, which would ease the pain as well as for the child to calm down, relax and be more himself.

Some Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues to Recognize Chronic Pain

  • Sudden drop in physical activity or sudden disinterest or evasion of other children
  • Changes in sleep pattern or routines
  • Appetite loss
  • Irritability, tetchiness or disorderly behavior
  • Anxiety or depression or unusual agitation or neediness
  • Non-verbal cues like wheezing, frowning, wincing
  • Noticeable signs such as flushed skin, sweating, rapid breathing
  • Medical Causes for Pain, Aches, or Discomfort

Persistent or chronic pain every so often goes either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, particularly in children. If left untreated or not given enough or serious attention could disturb the routine of the family as well as meddle with the child’s schooling and other activities.

Chronic pain is different from acute pain. Acute pain persists for a short span of time and has a definite purpose. In contrast, Chronic pain can go on and be more challenging to identify. It may emanate from a disease or disability, physical trauma, or from surgical procedures or treatments. A child with a medical condition that causes chronic pain may battle with problems connected to depression and anxiety as well, or may struggle more with schooling while striving to cope with the medical symptoms.

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