Question

Chapter 15: Analgesics and Antipyretics Describe: 1. Pain 2. Pain and emotional responses Pain and medications 4. Opioid and Opiate analgesics 5. Types of analgesics 6. Important facts about opioids and opiates 7. Characteristics of no opioid analgesics and examples (describe each one) 8. Adjuvant medications for analgesia

Answer 1

1) Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensation such as ache or prick or burn etc. It occurs as a response to a harmful stimuli or damage to the tissue. It can last from few seconds to few months. Based on the duration of the pain. It is classified into acute and chronic pain. Acute pain last from seconds to hours whereas, chronic pain lasts for months to years.

• Pain is also classified based on the site of damage
• Nerve Pain - This occurs when nerve fibres get damaged e.g in diabetes.
• Joint Pain - This occurs when joints are involved e.g in osteoarthritis.
• Visceral Pain - This occurs when organs are damaged.
• Mechanism of Pain : There are peripheral pain receptors called nociceptors all over in our body. when these are activated by harmful stimulus, then the pain signals travel to dorsal root ganglia of spinal cord and then the signals travels up to the thalamus of the brain and then to cerebral cortex where the pain is processed and recieved.

2) Pain and emotional responses

• Usually pain and emotions are interwined. This is seen mostly in patients who suffer with chronic pain, as it leads to depression, anxiety etc. there is a high risk of developing depression in patients with chronic pain and people with depression are at high risk of developing chronic pain.
• Emotions like anger, anxiety that occur with pain will increase the intensity of pain . So, the way we deal with the pain has an impact on the emotional response and also on the brain on how to handle it.
• there are therapies that helps in calming the mind which are very much needed in patients dealing with chronic pain.
• e.g Cognitive behavioural therapy.