ABSTRACT
Pain is an entirely subjective experience which has never been satisfactorily defined. It is what the patient says ‘hurts’ or is ‘sore’. The process of learning about pain starts at birth. The newborn child reacts to painful stimuli, as shown by the response to injections of drugs given under the skin shortly after birth. Newborn babies may, in fact, experience pain during birth when forceps are used, or a bone is damaged. The reaction to pain usually takes place after an interval of about half a second, and the appreciation of pain is slightly longer delayed. Pains caused by stressful situations in children are nearly always located in the abdomen, whereas pains in the joints, or the head, usually have a physical basis. The response to painful stimuli is greatly influenced by upbringing, and the environment, and in some societies the fortitude with which pain is borne is a measure of manhood.
