Following on from Monday's post, when I briefly talked about child2 having Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and suffering from pain, there is help at hand for parents when their child is in pain but perhaps can't vocalise exactly how they're feeling.
When your child is in pain, you would do anything to take it away. In the parent toolbox are liquid paracetemol such as calpol and child-strength ibuprofen and not much else unless they are under the care of a specialist.
Children’s charity WellChild has launched an interactive website, ‘My Child is in Pain’ to help parents understand how pain affects children.
The resource uses text, videos and illustrations, to help guide parents through the process of determining if their child is in pain.
It provides detailed information and practical advice on some of the simple things parents can do to provide comfort and manage their child’s pain.
This website has been developed by researchers working with parents of children who have had day case surgery and with health care professionals who are experts in pain management.
The site says the information is especially useful for parents whose children are aged 2-6 years old but we think it would also be helpful for parents of children with autism and other learning disabilities where communication can be problematic.
Some of the tips might seem a bit obvious, but sometimes, we can all use a little reminder of the simple solutions, especially if we are desperately looking to soothe a child in pain and Calpol doesn't seem to be working.
WellChild, whose patron is Prince Harry, helps sick children and their families across the UK with care, support and research.
You can find WellChild on Facebook here
Tania is an experienced broadcast and print journalist & author. She also runs a PR, web & social media consultancy, SocialOro Media.
Tania is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
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We have struggled for years to manage Daisy’s complex pain, we work closely with her palliative consultant now and together with the complex drug cocktail we use lots of other techniques such as TENs and distraction – in fact distraction is one of the best therapies when there is long term, complex pain – it’s also the reason nights are so much worse.
Thanks Steph, you could probably write a book about this yourself.
One thing I’m trying for myself is listening to binaural beat sounds via headphones. There are apps for this or you can find some online for free.
I love this idea of helping children with pain. Even in adults, it’s so hard to understand exactly how they experience pain, so of course in children it’s even more difficult. Thanks for this resource. http://www.donnaandtora.com