Pain is subjective. You cannot see it or hear it. You cannot even feel it for someone else. No one can understand the amount of pain that someone else has unless they have also gone through some type of pain, themselves. There are different types of pain. There are scales, that help to measure someone’s pain. The numbers scale of 1-10 or the Faces are great tools. But they do not feel pain for someone else. They are subjective tools. It is important to understand pain. To not ignore it. There is usually a reason behind the pain. It can be physical or emotional, which can create a more pronounced feeling.
People are good at masking pain. They take medication to help cope with the pain. Over the counter medication is good if the pain is minor, such as a slight headache. But what happens when the pain becomes unbearable? Who do you turn to? What is your course of action? I have found that it is important to know what you will do in case of. So, having over the counter acetaminophen or ibuprofen is ok, if there are no contraindications. Seek professional help if things go beyond that without relief.
Let us take a multidisciplinary approach to interventions and treatment of pain. This will help to promote better physical and psychological recovery. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), “It is likely that those surviving critical illness with COVID-19 will be at particular risk of developing chronic pain.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7261464/#bib6
So, prevention is important. Knowing what to look out for, how to treat your pain if you do happen to end up with the virus and its aftermath. There will be a free online question and answer for those who want to dig a little deeper. There will be health professionals from medical, mental, and social disciplines. Saturday, September 26th, at noon, est. Click on the link that follows to sign up. https://covidcarehhc.eventbrite.com
As always, we are here to help you if you are unable to get into your primary care providers.
https://www.hhctelehealth.com/