Page 26 - Oct Nov 2017

Teaching Children to Deal with Pain

and acupuncture or acu- “growing pains.” Five to migraine.
pressure. If acute pain is ten percent of all school-
untreated, it can cause aged children suffer from Internal traction, most of-

significant emotional and recurrent pains. ten associated with organ-
physical distress. ic (meaning coming from P

One pain these children within, not from external O
Chronic pain persists for a occasionally complain forces such as a strong L
time beyond three months about is headaches. The odor or stress) headaches,

and includes both constant National Headache Foun- indicates the presence of a I
C
pain, such as that caused dation classifies this recur- tumor, abscess, infection, E

by a terminal illness, and rent child’s pain into five swelling or hematoma.
intermittent pain, such as categories: tension-type, This type of headache is B
that caused by an intesti- vasodilation or vascular, very serious.

nal or stomach disorder. internal traction, inflam- R
U
Chronic pain may repre- mation and neurogenic or Inflammation headaches T

sent an illness, but often- epileptic. also require immediate A
times the cause of the pain medical care, as they ac- L
remains undiagnosed. This Your child’s tension-type company another prob-

type of pain frequently headache, according to the lem, usually a disease of I
T
wears the sufferer down Foundation, is “probably the eyes, ears, nose, teeth Y

into thinking it is normal caused by poor posture, or sinuses, or a neck or
or “just a part of life.” worry, anxiety or depres- jaw disorder. This type
Chronic pain should not sion.” It is characterized of headache occurs when

be a part of life. by a tightening in the your child’s tissues are
muscles, particularly those injured or irritated and

According to Kuttner, around the neck. become inflamed.
recurrent pain is “pain
that alternates with pain- Vasodilation or vascular Lastly, “some children’s

free periods.” Recurrent headaches are caused by headaches are accompa-
pain includes migraines the dilation and/or expan- nied by seizure-like be-

and tension headaches, sion of the blood vessels havior, similar to children
back pain and many other and arteries in and around who have epilepsy.” Tests
common problems. In the skull. This swelling on a neurogenic or epi-

children, recurrent pains form a pressure across the leptic headache will not
may include for a period forehead, oftentimes cre- usually reveal a clinical

of time what we label as ating what we know as a cause, but “a passing neu-

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