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Why should we try to avoid painful procedures in children?
Many medical or dental therapeutical procedures are feared by children because of expected pain. They can be associated with strong stress which may persist for many years (we say that stress becomes fixed). Stress is unfavourable not only in its acute phase, but fixation of stress can cause many problems in later life, sometimes even in adulthood (emotional behavioural disorders, sexual disorders, often tendency to alcoholism, etc.).
Pain induces deep changes in the child´s organism and may cause disorders of all organs and functional systems, leading even to multiorgan failure (pain shock).
The pain and anxiety affecting most children during different diagnostic and therapeutical procedures should not be ignored. Thus calming down (sedation), reducing pain (analgesia) and if possible, evoking amnesia of painful or unpleasant procedures is strongly recommended.
We at Unicare Pediatric Department are able to reach sedation, analgesia and amnesia of different depth and length by the gradual use and combination of various drugs which result in safe and reliable conscious analgesic-sedation to assist us during painfull procedures.
How does the procedure take its course? Is it safe?
We usually choose to apply these drugs by means of a small rectal enema, because this way of aplication is painless and very well tolerated by children. We usually do not use the more painful injectable form (intramuscular or intravenous route).
We are then able to perform invasive or unpleasant procedures even in very young children without associated anxiety, pain and stress. The children are not under general anesthesia, but they are also not fully awake and although they are able to cooperate with us (according to age), they do not remember the pain and stress involved in these procedures. Diagnostic and therapeutical interventions are thus fully painless and psychologically harmless.
This method is called procedural conscious analgic-sedation and is a very safe and reliable method in children.
Dr. Jan Hrdlicka, Ph.D., Head of Paediatric Department
Assoc.Prof.., Dr. Jan Handzel, Ph.D., Paediatric Dentist
Unicare Medical Center |
