Pain is something that all families experience, its all too common, and not a trivial matter. Moms and caregivers know when someone they care about is in pain, it is distressing. Understanding methods for controlling pain for yourself, and those in your care, can be life changing.
Most parents are familiar with the basics of controlling pain, including over-the-counter pain relievers, natural practices like ice or heat, or pharmaceuticals requiring a healthcare professional prescription. But have you ever wondered how well that pain medication you gave your little one is working? Or why some medications seem to work for some people, but not as well for others? Even why certain people seem to have bad reactions with some drugs while others have no issue with them at all? It can be confusing.
Planning for pain that isn’t happening right now can seem a bit like wishing for the worst, but the surprising fact is that planning for pain is actually a, very smart thing to do. We all keep that bottle of Aspirin, Advil or Tylenol in our cupboards but is it enough or is the one you choose even the right course of action?
So let’s imagine this is you or someone in your care; perhaps it’s your spouse or young child, or maybe even your elderly parent. Will Advil be more effective in relieving that toothache pain, or will Tylenol? Maybe you offer one or a couple of each, but is that safe? Maybe Aspirin is a better choice this time? What about for a teething baby? Now let’s imagine that your 8-year-old child breaks their arm in soccer and needs surgery. Will the pain medications they get be effective enough or will they still be in a lot of pain?
What if it is chronic pain that your family member has? Most families will experience a medical emergency or a scheduled surgery or a procedure requiring pain relief at some point. A scary fact is that, for 20% of us, acute pain (short lived) ends up transitioning into chronic pain (lasting over 3 months – sometimes for life.). What many of us don’t understand is that this is more likely to happen if the pain was not treated effectively from the beginning, or if underlying depression or anxiety are not treated properly.
Common presentations of chronic pain in children include recurrent headaches, abdominal pain, back pain, and musculoskeletal pain. If not properly addressed, pain in this age group can impact development and may lead to chronic pain, substance use, and psychological disorders later in life. Chronic pain can have lasting impacts on the sufferer’s mood and mental health, often leading to depression (wondering if the pain will ever get better) and anxiety (anticipating the next “bad pain day”, not knowing if you will make it to work tomorrow.) You may lose sleep or sleep poorly, and this can compound the issues. When you or a loved one are in pain, the most important thing becomes making it go away.
You may think that you are stuck wondering if whatever medication you chose from the pain relief aisle at your local drug store, or whatever prescription you have in your hand from the doctor or walk-in is the best choice for you or your loved one, but that is actually no longer the case. Imagine how empowering it would feel to go into the emergency room, doctor’s office, or pharmacy armed with the knowledge of exactly which medications will work best for your or your loved one’s pain, depression or anxiety, based on your genetic profile and how well your body processes different medicines? What if you could minimize the frustrating “trial and error” of trying different medications before the right one was found? What if you could avoid a potentially dangerous side effect for your child because you know exactly what medications their body will react negatively to?
We have all heard about “personalized medicine”, especially in areas like cancer treatment. As it turns out, how we experience pain and how our pain should be treated is also very personal to each individual. When it comes to treating pain– one size definitely does NOT fit all. This goes beyond factors like age, weight, and type of pain; this boils down to your individual DNA. The fact is, we all inherit our individual responses to medications for pain, as well as medications for mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
No – you don’t need to go out and get a pharmacology degree in order to treat pain in your family but there is something you can do: Get an Inagene Personalized Insights™ test for yourself and those you love.
Inagene Diagnostics, a new pharmacogenetics company based in Ontario, is working hard to ensure all Canadians are armed with the knowledge and pain management strategies that will help them to feel better, sooner. They are transforming pain management in Canada by empowering Canadians with powerful personalized feedback that specifically targets your options and alternatives for management of pain and mood disorders based on your DNA.
Inagene tests are simple and uncomplicated to order and use:
Five simple steps to knowing more and feeling better:
The kit is accurate and the most reliable on the market in Canada today.
Inagene is also researching the relevance of genetics on risk for addiction and hope to provide more help in the future.
Some pain-relieving medications have been a hot topic of late. Opioids carry risks, but, when used properly, can make all the difference in treating severe pain. Are you someone who may have more genetic risk factors for addiction to opioids? Is your child? Its a lot to think about and you may not have time to do the research. With the concerns surrounding opioid addiction, many are turning to cannabis as a possible alternative. Everyone knows someone who has invested in CBD oil to “see if it would help”. The confusing thing is it seems to help some people a lot, while others seem to get no relief.
Inagene can help you make the most informed decision you can about which pain medications may work best for you and which you should avoid. Inagene’s Personalized Insights™ offers Healthcare Professionals and their patients a new level of understanding using the most comprehensive genetic test for pain management available.
In less than 2 weeks your individualized results are returned to you, offering you a roadmap to feeling better sooner. Inagene’s Personalized Insights will help you understand:
When you – or someone you love – is in pain, whether it is physical or emotional, all you want is to get it under control fast so you can all get back to living. Any pain is too much pain when its you or someone you love. Inagene is here to help you know better, so you can do better. And best of all – help you feel better.
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at Inagene
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