Pain management techniques

Our experts help manage children's pain in a variety of ways that don't include medication and instead focus on direct relief or distraction. Our drug-free options include:

• Hot or cold packs
• Gentle massages of the area causing discomfort
• Special therapies like art and music
• Relaxation techniques
• Guided imagery
• Distraction and expression

We have many different medication available for pain relief when appropriate. We offer oral medication in tablet or liquid forms, IV medication or suppositories as well as:

Epidural analgesias: Pain medicine continuously given through a small tube in the back. To insert the tube, one of our expert anesthesiologists has to place a small needle between two vertebrae into the epidural space. A local numbing agent called an anesthetic and usually also a low dose of an opioid or narcotic pain medication can then be given to the patient. Epidural analgesias typically stay in place from one to three days depending on the procedure.

Patient-controlled analgesias (PCAs): Allow patients to push a button and safely give themselves a prescribed amount of pain medicine through their IVs. When a child rates his or her pain greater than a four on a scale to 10, we instruct the child to press the button. There is a limit on how much pain medicine a child may receive in a given period of time.

Common procedures like IV placements and blood draws can come with painful "pokes," so our experts create a personalized, kid-friendly poke plan for each child to ease discomfort. Poke plans can include:

LMX or "magic cream": A topical anesthetic cream that needs to be applied 30 minutes prior to a lab draw or IV insertion. LMX can be used on children 1 month and older but may not be possible for urgent procedures.

Ethyl chloride or "freezy spray": This is applied immediately prior to a blood draw or IV insertion. It can be used on children 3 years and older but is not appropriate when obtaining blood cultures.

Sugar water: Sweet-Ease is liquid sugar that can be applied to the inside of a baby's mouth via pacifier. It can be used on babies from birth to 3 months. Studies have shown it releases the same compounds as opioids/powerful pain medications.

Certain positioning: There are several age-dependent positioning options that can help children during painful procedures. Examples include skin-to-skin for infants, sitting upright for school-age kids.

Specific treatment rooms: These are equipped with several modes of distraction, including TVs with DVD players and fun "find it" murals. They also include state-of-the-art chairs that give our doctors adequate room to perform procedures as well as allow us to best position your child for comfort.