Emergency
Since we all experience pain totally differently, it’s extremely difficult to explain what hurts – and how badly – to anyone.
We’ve put together a rough guide to explaining your pain to a doctor in the shortest, most effective way possible…
How much does it hurt: using the pain scale
Each of us have our own unique pain tolerance level, so doctors in America devised the pain scale as a method for patients to describe the intensity of their discomfort. According to Health.com, the pain scale works using numbered levels from zero to 10, where a 0 means you’re pain-free and there’s nothing to discuss, while a 10 means you’re in off-the-charts in huge amounts of I-can’t-stand-it-anymore agony. Doctors say that while the pain scale is handy to have as a good starting point, it has its limitations – one person’s four is another person’s nine.
How it hurts: what kind of pain do you feel?
According to the experts at WebMD.com, the kind of pain you’re in can give doctors valuable pointers to the site of the injury and there are a number of words you can use to describe your pain. Here’s a rough guide to kinds of pain:
- A dull ache: This kind of pain is usually associated with chronic pain that’s been caused by tissue injury – think arthritis or back ache.
- Shooting/stabbing pains: These pains are usually nerve-related and can be caused by a number of conditions – the most familiar examples are a pinched nerve or carpal tunnel syndrome.
- A buzzing/burning/electrical-type pain: These are also pains caused by nerve-impulses in the affected area.
- Tingling, pins-and-needles or numbness: These also indicate nerve issues, but aren’t really considered painful, just more uncomfortable sensations. They’re still valuable clues as to what’s causing your discomfort so do mention them.
The more information you can give the doctor about your pain, the easier it will be to treat. When you see the doctor, be as specific as you can about the pain and include details like when it started, if anything triggers it, and whether the pain changes as your day progresses.
To sum up: the locates method
The American Pain Foundation has come up with an at-a-glance-guide to explaining pain to your doctor – you can even jot your symptoms down on a piece of paper beforehand. It’s called the LOCATES method.
