Media Release:

Seven ways parents can help ease pain in children

Although parents endeavour to make sure their child is as safe as possible, minor injuries
and painful experiences can still occur. When a child is in pain parents need to provide
fast, effective relief straight away. This can help ease their short term suffering and avoid
ongoing effect like 'pain memory'.

Seven handy hints to relieve children's pain

1. No child should be in pain
Untreated pain causes stress and can sensitise a child's pain pathways making future bouts of pain worse.

2. Assess the level of pain
This depends on the age of the child.

1. For young children: view their physical behaviour (crying, movement of the limbs, facial expression)
2. For older children: ask how much it hurts (small amount, medium amount, a lot) or ask what the pain is on a scale from 0-10 where zero is no pain and 10 is the worse pain you can imagine

3. Try the three 'P's

1. Pharmaceutical analgesia - Panadol, Nurofen or Painstop Day-Time depending on the level of pain
2. Physical - Apply heat or cold packs
3. Psychological - Distraction and controlled breathing

4. Treat the level of pain with the correct analgesia
If a child is experiencing moderate to strong pain parents should treat children with appropriate analgesia straight away. Often parents are fearful of “over-treating” pain and will try more and more paracetamol rather than moving on to a combination analgesic such as Painstop Day-Time. However all analgesics have a 'ceiling' where giving larger doses or more frequent does will not provide any further relief - and may well cause harm. Painstop Day-Time is the only product for moderate to strong pain in children in Australia. It is available without a script but only from pharmacies (for children over 12 months). This means parents can chat with their pharmacist prior to using the product.

5. Prevent pain resurfacing rather than waiting to treat it again
Don't let the pain resurface before treating it again. It is important to give pain medicines regularly to get on top of the pain and to prevent it from becoming unmanageable. Parents should seek advice from their doctor or pharmacist regarding selecting and dosage of medication.

6. Distraction is a simple and very effective way to reduce pain for infants and children
Distraction is a very useful tool especially for mild pain. How you distract your child will depend on his or her age.

7. Seek medical advice
If parents are unsure about the cause of their child's pain or the pain does not resolve with 24 hours or even if they are concerned about their child's pain they should speak with their doctor or pharmacist.

Please remember that Painstop Day-Time is a registered medicine and should be used only as directed. Incorrect use could be harmful. Parents should always consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist.

For more information about Painstop Day-Time Pain Reliever, please visit www.painstop.com.au and read further information about What is Painstop?.

Mum Zone Release Date: 2nd September 2008

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