Treating Pain at Home After Surgery

It’s normal for your child to have pain after surgery. Each child shows pain differently. You may notice changes in their behavior, like crying, moving around a lot, or not calming down. There are ways to help control your child’s pain with medicine, comfort, and distractions. We’ll teach you signs of pain to understand how your child is feeling and how to best care for their pain. These signs can help if your child isn’t able to tell or show you how they’re feeling.

Signs of Pain

You can often tell how much pain your child is in by watching what they can and can’t do. Noticing these changes can help you decide how to comfort them and if they need pain medicine. It also helps you share clear information with the care team. For example:

• Mild pain – Your child may play, talk, eat, or sleep like usual.
• Moderate pain – They may eat less, cry some, rest more, or stop playing.
• Severe pain – They may not want to eat or drink, may cry a lot or scream, be hard to calm down, not want to be touched, or look very upset.

Comfort

Comfort and distraction can help your child think less about pain and help improve it.

• You can comfort them by:
  • Making the room calm by turning down the lights. Wearing headphones can help block out loud noises. Your child can also listen to soft music or calming sounds.
  • Giving them a comfort item from home, like a stuffed animal, blanket, or toy.
  • Touching their hands, arms, legs, or head.
  • Having them gently press a pillow or folded blanket over the cut (incision). This is called splinting. They can do this before coughing, deep breathing, or moving.
• You can distract them by: reading, playing games, counting, watching TV, singing, blowing bubbles, listening to music, talking about favorite places, or using stress balls or fidget items.

After Surgery

Your child may be prescribed medicine(s) to help treat some symptoms after surgery, like:

Pain Medicine

The doctor or health care provider will choose the best pain medicine based on the type of surgery your child had. They may be prescribed:

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol^®) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – These medicines are given at different times, switching back and forth (alternating).
  • Common NSAIDs include ibuprofen (Advil^®, Motrin^®), naproxen (Naprosyn^®, Aleve^®), and celecoxib (Celebrex^®).
  • NEVER give acetaminophen and an NSAID at the same time unless your child’s doctor or health care provider says it’s okay.
  • Always give NSAIDs with food to help prevent an upset stomach.
• Opioids as needed – These medicines, like oxycodone or hydrocodone, may be used for more severe pain that acetaminophen or NSAIDs aren’t controlling.
  • Not every child will get an opioid for pain. If your child’s doctor or health care provider did not prescribe an opioid, this section does not apply to them.
  • Only use opioids for the prescribed amount of time.
  • Only give opioids if pain is not controlled with acetaminophen or NSAIDs.
  • You may give an opioid with acetaminophen or an NSAID if your child’s pain is severe, and the doctor or health care provider says it’s okay.
  • Some opioids contain acetaminophen. Do NOT give extra acetaminophen if your child is taking one of these combination medicines:
    • Hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Norco^® and Lortab®)
    • Oxycodone and acetaminophen (Percocet^®)

Giving Pain Medicine

• Pain medicine at home is usually given by mouth.
• Your child can take it with food to help prevent an upset stomach.
• You may need to alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen. The prescription will tell you how often to alternate these.
• Check your child’s pain before giving medicine. Use acetaminophen or an NSAID first. Only give a prescribed opioid if those medicines don’t help.

ONLY give opioid medicine for pain that is too strong for your child to rest, move, or do allowed activities. This is called breakthrough pain.

When to Call the Doctor

Call your child’s doctor or health care provider if:

• Your child’s pain cannot be controlled or is worse than before.
• You have any questions or concerns about their pain control.

When to Call 911

Call 911 for emergency help if your child:

• Has trouble breathing.
• Is hard to wake up.
• Is sleeping more often.

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