GLOSSARY
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Advance
Medical Directives
Advance directives are used to give other people, including
health care providers, information about your wishes for medical
care. Advance directives are important in case there is ever
a time when you are not physically or mentally able to speak
for yourself and make your wishes known. The most common types
of advance directives are the living will and the durable
power of attorney for health care.
Allodynia
When pain is caused by something that does not normally cause
pain (such as clothing touching the skin).
Analgesic
Medications
Medications used to prevent or treat pain.
Antidepressant
Medications used to treat depression, and also used to treat
chronic pain. Antidepressants can also be helpful for pain-related
symptoms, like sleep problems and muscle spasms.
Anxiolytic
Medications used to treat anxiety, and also used to treat
chronic pain. Anxiolytics reduce pain-related anxiety, help
relax muscles and can help a person cope with pain.
Bereavement
The act of grieving someone's death.
Caregiver
Any person who provides care for the physical and emotional
needs of a family member or friend.
Causalgia
(Complex Regional Pain Syndrome II)
Pain, usually burning, that is associated with autonomic changes
-- change in color of the skin, change in temperature, change
in sweating, swelling. Causalgia occurs after a nerve injury.
Central
Nervous System
The brain and the spinal cord.
Clinical
Trials
Carefully planned and monitored experiments to test a new
drug or treatment.
Complementary
Medicine
Approaches to medical treatment that are outside of mainstream
medical training. Complementary medicine treatments used for
pain include: acupuncture, low-level laser therapy, meditation,
aroma therapy, Chinese medicine, dance therapy, music therapy,
massage, herbalism, therapeutic touch, yoga, osteopathy, chiropractic
treatments, naturopathy, and homeopathy.
Computed
Tomography (CT/CAT) Scanning
A painless technique used to produce a picture of a cross-section,
or "slice," of a part of the body. X-rays are used
to produce this picture.
Constipation
Difficulty having a bowel movement.
Delirium
A disturbance of the brain function that causes confusion
and changes in alertness, attention, thinking and reasoning,
memory, emotions, sleeping patterns and coordination. These
symptoms may start suddenly, are due to some type of medical
problem, and they may get worse or better multiple times.
Do-Not-Resuscitate
(DNR) Orders
Instructions written by a doctor telling other healthcare
providers not to try to restart a patient's heart, using cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) or other related treatments, if his/her
heart stops beating. Usually, DNR orders are written after
a discussion between a doctor and the patient and/or family
members. DNR orders are written for people who are very unlikely
to have a successful result from CPR -- those who are terminally
ill or those who are elderly and frail.
Durable
Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPOAHC)
A legal document that specifies one or more individuals (called
a health care proxy) you would like to make medical decisions
for you if you are unable to do so yourself.
Dyspnea
Difficulty in breathing.
End-of-Life
Care
Doctors and caregivers provide care to patients approaching
the end of life that is focused on comfort, respect for decisions,
support for the family, and treatments to help psychological
and spiritual concerns.
Entitlement
A federal program (such as Social Security or unemployment
benefits) that guarantees a certain level of benefits to those
who meet requirements set by law.
EPEC
(Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care)
A project designed to educate physicians across the United
States about providing good end-of-life care for patients.
EPEC includes a curriculum used to train doctors in clinical
knowledge and skills they need to care for dying patients.
Ethics
A system of moral principles and rules that are used as standards
for professional conduct. Many hospitals and other health
care facilities have ethics committees that can help doctors,
other healthcare providers, patients and family members in
making difficult decisions regarding medical care.
Fatigue
A feeling of becoming tired easily, being unable to complete
usual activity, feeling weak, and difficulty concentrating.
Fibromyalgia
A pain disorder in which a person feels widespread pain and
stiffness in the muscles, fatigue, and other symptoms.
Hospice
A special way of caring for people with terminal illnesses
and their families by meeting the patients physical,
emotional, social, and spiritual needs, as well as the needs
of the family. The goals of hospice are to keep the patient
as comfortable as possible by relieving pain and other symptoms;
to prepare for a death that follows the wishes and needs of
the patient; and to reassure both the patient and family members
by helping them to understand and manage what is happening.
Hospice
Home Care
Most hospice patients receive care while living in their homes.
Home hospice patients have family members or friends who provide
most of their care, with help and support from the trained
hospice team. The hospice team visits at the house to provide
medical and nursing care, emotional support, counseling, information,
instruction and practical help. A home care aide may also
be available to help with daily care, if needed.
Hyperalgesia
Extreme sensitivity to pain.
Hyperpathia
An exaggerated response to something that causes pain, with
continued pain after the cause of the pain is no longer present.
Informed
Consent
The process of making decisions about medical care that are
based on open, honest communication between the health care
provider and the patient and/or the patient's family members.
Living
Will
A legal document which outlines the kinds of medical care
a patient wants and doesn't want. The living will is used
only if the patient becomes unable to make decisions for him/herself.
Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A painless technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves
(without radiation) to create clear cross-sectional pictures
of the body.
Myofascial
Pain
Muscle pain and tenderness.
Nerve
Blocks
Injections of anesthetic (or numbing) substances into nerves
in order to reduce pain.
Nutrition/Hydration
Intravenous (IV) fluid and nutritional supplements given to
patients who are unable to eat or drink by mouth, or those
who are dehydrated or malnourished.
Opioid
A type of medication related to opium. Opioids are strong
analgesics. Opioids include morphine, codeine, and a large
number of synthetic (man-made) drugs like methadone and fentanyl.
Pain
An unpleasant feeling that may or may not be related to an
injury, illness, or other bodily trauma. Pain is complex and
differs from person to person.
Acute
Pain
Pain that has a known cause and occurs for a limited time.
Acute pain usually responds to treatment with analgesic medications
and treatment of the cause of the pain.
Chronic
Pain
Pain that occurs for more than one month after healing of
an injury, that occurs repeatedly over months, or is due to
a lesion that is not expected to heal.
Pain
Due to Nerve Injury
Pain caused by an injury or other problem in the nervous system.
Palliative
Care
The total care of patients with progressive, incurable illness.
In palliative care, the focus of care is on quality of life.
Control of pain and other physical symptoms, and psychological,
social and spiritual problems is considered most important.
Patient-Controlled
Analgesia (PCA)
Pain medication given through an IV or epidural catheter.
Patients control the dose of medication they take, depending
on how much is needed to control the pain. PCA is usually
used for patients recovering from intra-abdominal, major orthopedic,
or thoracic surgery, and for chronic pain states, such as
those due to cancer.
Peripheral
Nervous System
The nerves throughout the body that send messages to the central
nervous system.
Peripheral
Neuropathy
Pain caused by an injury or other problem with the peripheral
nervous system.
Phantom
Pain
Pain that develops after an amputation. To the patient, the
pain feels like it is coming from the missing body part.
Pharmacotherapy
The treatment of diseases and symptoms with medications.
Physician
Assisted Suicide
Actions by a doctor that help a patient commit suicide. Though
the doctor may provide medication, a prescription, or take
other steps, the patient takes his/her own life (for instance,
by swallowing the pills that are expected to bring about death).
Postherpetic
Neuralgia (PHN)
Painful condition following shingles (herpes zoster).
Psychological
Approaches
Techniques used to help patients cope with over their pain
and deal with emotional factors that can increase pain. Such
strategies include biofeedback, imagery, hypnosis, relaxation
training, stress management, cognitive-behavioral therapy,
and family counseling.
Reflex
Sympathetic Dystrophy (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome I)
Pain, usually burning, that is associated with "autonomic
changes" -- change in color of the skin, change in temperature,
change in sweating, swelling. Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
is caused by injury to bone, joint, or soft tissues.
Rehabilitation
Treatment for an injury, illness, or pain with the goal of
restoring function.
Trigeminal
Neuralgia
A disorder of the trigeminal nerve that causes brief attacks
of severe pain in the lips, cheeks, gums, or chin on one side
of the face.
Treatment
Withdrawal
A syndrome that might occur when a medication that has been
used regularly to treat pain is no longer used, or when the
dose is decreased. Showing symptoms of withdrawal does not
mean that a patient is addicted to his/her pain medication.
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