Clip this box on controlling pain
August 1, 1999 less than 1 minute read
Clip this box on controlling pain
Providence Home Health Care in Novi, MI, developed these pain control guidelines for patients:
1.Don’t wait for pain to become severe before taking pain medications.
2.Refill pain control prescriptions when you have at least three days of pain medication left.
3.Talk to physician about any side effects you may be having.
4.Most pain medications cause constipation. Take a stool softener or ask your doctor about an appropriate bowel program.
5.For surgical patients, try splinting the surgical site with a pillow before coughing.
6.Relaxation exercises:
• Breathe in slowly and deeply.
• As you breathe out slowly, feel yourself beginning to relax; feel the tension leave your body.
• Now breathe in and out slowly and regularly, at whatever rate is comfortable for you. You may wish to try abdominal breathing.
• To help you focus on your breathing and to breathe slowly and rhythmically: breathe in as you say silently to yourself, "in, two, three." Each time you breathe out, say silently to yourself a word, such as "peace" or "relax."
• You may imagine that you are doing this in a place you have found very calming and relaxing, such as lying in the sun at the beach.
• Do the first four steps only once or repeat the third and fourth steps for up to 20 minutes.
• End with a slow deep breath. As you breathe out, say to yourself, "I feel relaxed and comfortable."
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