Children with chronic and life-threatening conditions sometimes experience pain, nausea, depression and other symptoms as a result of the illness or as a side effect of treatment. When a child is suffering from a serious illness, managing his or her pain and symptoms is a top concern. Pain and symptom management eases discomfort and improves symptoms.
As part of palliative care, the pain and symptom management service is provided to children with chronic and life-threatening conditions on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. Your child's care team will assess his or her symptoms and level of discomfort on a regular basis to ensure everything is being done to improve quality of life.
The palliative care team at Riley at IU Health may recommend the following to manage your child's pain and symptoms:
- Pain medicines
- Changes to diet and nutrition
- Antidepressants
What to Expect
What to Expect
Pain and symptom management starts by assessing how your child is feeling. This includes monitoring behavior and physiological signs as well as asking your child to rate his or her discomfort and symptoms on a scale.
Depending on the level and type of pain, your child's care team can offer a range of medicines to help relieve pain, including:
- Acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is an analgesic drug (medicine that relieves pain while the patient is awake) used to treat pain and fever.
- Epidural analgesia. Epidural analgesia is an injection of pain medicine into the epidural space of the spine (the space between the spinal cord and spinal membrane) in order to provide pain relief.
- Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine used for pain relief.
- Opioids. Opioids are narcotic pain relievers that help reduce the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain.
- Patient-controlled analgesia. Patient-controlled analgesia is available for older children and allows your child to control when he or she receives a dose of pain medicine by pushing a button that releases medicine through an IV.
Symptom management also includes monitoring and adjusting diet, nutrition, activities, emotional condition and sleep. For children suffering from emotional side effects (including depression) antidepressants may be prescribed.
The goal is to help your child feel pain-free and as physically and mentally well as possible throughout his or her illness.
Key Points to Remember
Key Points to Remember
- Pain and symptom management helps children with chronic or life-threatening conditions cope with pain, nausea, depression and other symptoms that result from illness or medical treatment.
- Depending on the type and level of your child’s pain, certain medicines may be used to provide pain relief.
- Symptom management involves monitoring and adjusting your child's diet, nutrition, activities, emotional condition and sleep.