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Understanding pain profiles perrigo clock 15 Min

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Understanding pain profiles perrigo clock 15 Min

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In Sponsored Education

Pain is personal and how it’s felt differs from person to person. Supporting your customers to manage their acute pain effectively by providing appropriate advice and suitable treatment options can have a considerable positive effect on their quality of life. This is especially important as many customers (68%) tend to purchase the same OTC healthcare product most of the time,1 and 44% believe that a prescription is needed to obtain a pharmacy medicine.2

WATCH ALL THE SHORT VIDEOS TO COMPLETE YOUR TRAINING AND BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL TYPES OF ACUTE PAIN:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand different pain profiles and how they impact customers’ quality of life

  • Recommend appropriate analgesia for a specific pain profile

  • Complete the care by providing customers with additional advice to help manage their pain appropriately

Acute pain begins suddenly and doesn’t last for long, whereas chronic pain is present for longer periods (after 3-6 months).3 It is often caused by an injury or trauma with varying levels of severity,3 and can have a significant impact on a customer’s ability to undertake their usual day-to-day activities.

Starting a pain conversation

Different types of pain will require different approaches for management, and customers may have specific concerns and preferences for their treatment.

  • Use WWHAM alongside open questions to understand your customer's pain, and tailor your advice accordingly

  • Follow up with more specific questions to build a complete picture of your customer's symptoms, concerns and the impact on their life

START WITH AN OPEN QUESTION

  • Discuss pain duration:

    When did the pain begin?

  • Describe the pain:

    Can you describe your pain?

  • Discuss pain severity:

    How painful is it on
    a scale of 1-10?

  • Daily impact of pain:

    Does it restrict
    your activity?

  • Find out about treatment:

    What are you
    currently taking?

  • Holistic care:

    Do you manage your
    pain in other ways?

You could also support your customer by signposting them appropriately, e.g. to other healthcare professionals or alternative information sources, such as charitable organisations. You should always provide safety-netting advice for customers, so they know when to seek further medical help.

REMEMBER: managing pain can be very difficult for some people, both physically and mentally, therefore always show empathy.

Pain severity

Pain can be classified as MILD, MODERATE or SEVERE and your recommendations may differ according to the level of pain being experienced.

MILD PAIN

could be characterised as:4

  • Coming and going

  • Annoying but does not stop sufferers from undertaking their daily activities

  • Distracting, however most people can adapt to it

MODERATE PAIN

could be characterised as:4

  • Always there

  • Making it hard to concentrate or sleep

  • Not affecting the ability to get up, wash or dress

  • Possibly causing disruption to some normal activities, e.g. walking or exercise

SEVERE PAIN

could be characterised as:4

  • Always there and so bad it's hard to think or talk

  • Affecting the ability to sleep

  • Making it very hard to move, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, wash or dress

  • Limiting the ability to perform daily activities and can be very distracting

Product information and information on adverse event reporting is available at the end of the module.

Content developed by Perrigo in association with CIG Healthcare Partnership.
© 2025 CIG Healthcare Partnership

MAT-7889 January 2025

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