Pain

An unpleasant, depressing, sometimes unbearable sensation that occurs mainly with super-strong or destructive effects on the human body and animals; subjective expression of damage to the body or disruption of some of its functions. In the process of evolution of the organic world, pain turned into a danger signal and became an important biological factor ensuring the preservation of life. According to I.P. Pavlov, pain stands guard over the anatomical integrity of the body, discarding everything that interferes, that threatens the life process, that disrupts the balance of the body with the environment. The occurrence of pain mobilizes the body's defenses to eliminate painful stimuli and restore the normal functioning of organs and physiological systems.

At the same time, pain brings severe suffering to a person, deprives him of peace and ability to work, and in some cases it itself can cause the development of life-threatening suffering - pain shock.

Usually, the more severe the damage to the skin, mucous membranes, periosteum, the more severe the pain, the stronger the sensation of pain, i.e. the higher the intensity of the stimuli. When the functions of internal organs are impaired, the sensation of pain does not always correspond to the degree of these disorders: relatively minor disorders of intestinal function can lead to severe pain, while serious damage to the brain, blood, and kidneys can be painless.

The body responds to painful stimuli with a number of changes: blood vessels narrow, blood pressure rises, blood clotting and blood sugar content increase. The nature and quality of pain is extremely varied, so pain is subjectively assessed as sharp, dull, stabbing, cutting, pressing, burning, aching. Pain can be felt by the patient directly at the location of the affected organ or in a more or less distant part of the body (for example, in the left arm or shoulder blade for heart disease). The spread of pain from the source of its origin to certain areas of the body is called pain irradiation.

Various diseases, including conditions that require emergency medical care, can be accompanied by pain, very similar in localization. The most common life-threatening conditions include headache, heart pain, and abdominal pain.

Pain in the heart area, in the left half of the chest or behind the sternum, can be stabbing, aching or squeezing, often radiates to the left arm and shoulder blade, occurs suddenly or develops gradually, can be short-term or long-lasting. It accompanies both diseases of the heart itself and damage to other organs.

Sudden sharp compressive pain behind the sternum, radiating to the left arm and shoulder blade, occurring during physical effort or at rest, is characteristic of angina pectoris and requires urgent medical attention.

Pain in the left half of the chest can occur with rheumatism, as well as with damage to organs adjacent to the heart, nerve roots, chronic inflammation of the tonsils, anemia and many other diseases. Often, pain in the heart area is caused by functional disorders of the nervous system of the heart due to neuroses, endocrine disorders, and various intoxications (for example, in smokers and alcohol abusers). Therapeutic measures for heart pain depend on the cause that caused it. Since these pains may indicate angina pectoris or another serious illness, their occurrence requires consultation with a doctor.

If there is severe pain in the heart area, the patient should be reassured, laid down or seated, providing him with complete rest and access to fresh air, and given Valocordin (Corvalol), Zelenin drops or Validol, which help not only with angina, but also in many other cases. If the pain is acute, radiates to the left arm or shoulder blade, is accompanied by a feeling of fear, you should give the patient validol or nitroglycerin under the tongue, place mustard plasters on the middle part of the chest and urgently call

Introduction Pain is one of the most unpleasant and acute sensations that a person can experience. It can appear for various reasons, such as injury, infection, illness or surgery. Pain can be acute or chronic, and each type of pain requires a different approach to treatment. In this article we will look at various aspects of pain and its impact.