Page 24 - Oct Nov 2017

Teaching Children to Deal with Pain

surgery, whether that sur- have now realized that the tion for years. But now
gery was a circumcision child is the ultimate au- people can think of pain
or for something more thority on the pain he or as a genetically regulated

life-threatening. We, as a she is feeling. problem.”
society and as research- P

ers, have come a long In July of this year, a re- Causes of Pain O
way since then, but only search team at John Hop- Genes are not the only L
recently. In 1985 in Wash- kins University and the causes of how intense

ington D.C., baby Jeffrey National Institute on Drug pains could be. Many I
C
Lawson was born prema- Abuse (NIDA) reported, factors influence the way E

turely and needed heart in the Proceedings of the we feel pain. Child psy-
surgery. Doctors gave the National Academy of Sci- chologist Leona Kuttner, B
baby the proper anesthetic ences, that they had found Ph.D., in her book A Child

analgesia, but he received a single gene that could in Pain: How to Help, R
U
no post-operation pain explain why injuries that What to Do (Hartley and T

medications. Baby Jeffrey spell mere discomfort for Marks), includes these A
died shortly after surgery, one person could be mean factors: L
and during this landmark agony for another. This ·*sex

case, it was proved he gene, which controls the · *temperament I
T
died from the intensity of mu opiate receptor (a mol- · *cultural norms Y

the pain. ecule that helps the body’s · *parent’s anxiety level
natural opiates enter · *child’s anxiety level
This case caused the In- cells), also provides clues and perceptions

ternational Association for as to why some people · *extent of physical in-
the Study of Pain to form get more relief than other jury

the Special Interest Group from opium-based pain- · *amount of stress
on Pain in Childhood in killers. · *type of analgesia (pain
1986. Because of their reliever) used

work, and the research of Dr. George Uhl, of NIDA, · *developmental level
other similar groups, we said, “People have long · *previous painful experi-

now know that children been skeptical that pain ences
of all ages do indeed feel has a genetic basis. Many
pain and this pain is often assume the way people These factors combine to

more intense and fright- respond is voluntary. ‘Just determine how painful
ening than the pain that put up with it’ has been the situation is and how

adults experience. We also a common recommenda- the child will respond. If

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