The Pain Scale in the US is a simple self-measurement "from 0 to 10" on which a patient ranks the pain they feel "in this moment".
Alert Verbal Pain Unresponsive
It is an ordinal scale.
On a scale of 1 to 10....1 being no pain 10 being the worst pain of your life.
There is no standardized SI unit for measuring pain. Pain is subjective and therefore difficult to quantify using a single unit of measurement. Instead, pain intensity is often assessed using scales such as the visual analog scale or numerical rating scale.
The unit that calculates PAIN is called a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) or a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). These are tools used in clinical settings to measure and assess pain levels reported by patients.
AVPU scale stands for alert, verbal, pain, unresponsive
Since pain is a subjective experience there is no reliable way to do that other than to ask the patient. A helpful tool is a pain scale, 1-5, with 5 being the worst pain that makes you flinch, have difficulty breathing, or having tunnel vision. Sometimes a scale of 1-10 is used, depending on the preference of the caregiver.
Currently, physicians use self-reporting on a 10-point scale, where 1 is the least pain and 10 is the worst pain. The rating is subjective, meaning patients rate their own pain symptoms. However, physicians and medical / nursing staff can also use objective criteria of what they observe about a patient and the patient's behaviors.
That's always a tough one, since everyone is different. My pain scale is likely a lot different than yours, and vice-versa. I've lived with high levels of pain for so many years that most of what I feel normally would likely be at least uncomfortable for most people, excruciating for others. The easiest way is to chart it on scale, and I've added some links below to help you out. Figure that on the scale, Zero is no pain, and Ten is you're either climbing the walls in so much pain that you can't function or move, or you're screaming your head off. Of course not everyone reacts the same way to higher levels of pain. The key I use for a 10 is when a I get pain that's strong enough that it leaves me barely functional, e.g., unable to walk normally, move, eat, breathe, etc. Pain tolerance also increases as you experience higher levels of pain for longer periods, so the scale is relative to your own pain tolerance level. As I said, what's excruciating for some people is just an irritant to me or others. What you need to do is to think of the worst pain you've ever experienced, and note that as your "10" for the pain scale. Any other pain you experience, rate it against that. If you've never had any major injuries or pain, you're lucky, but everyone has some level of pain that they've experienced. Again, use your highest level of pain that you've experienced as your personal "10" for the scale, and adjust anything else accordingly. Later down the road you'll likely experience something worse, and that becomes your new standard for the upper pain scale, and everything else should be judged against that.
8
i have Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome in my ankles and havent walked for 22 years. i rate my constant pain as a 8/10. My pain specialists at starship hospital say that my pain is worse that giving birth to a child constantly. Hope this helps. with chroic Back
The scale for acceptable pain levels varies widely on an individual basis. If pain is impeding your ability to function on a daily basis, you should consult a physician to analyze and manage your pain.