Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors (or ENTs) perform just under 5% of all surgeries in the US each year – that translates to more than 3.5 million procedures a year. These types of interventions can be lifesavers for patients, some of whom may struggle with painful conditions until they receive surgery. Interestingly, pain management for this particular type of surgery has also received attention in recent years, especially in light of the growing prescription drug addiction problem in the United States. The general public is more aware than ever of the risks of pain medicine, and the government has taken various initiatives to prohibit overuse of these medications. Nonetheless, treatment for pain is both necessary and useful for the patient and cannot be avoided in most circumstances.

Despite the recent attention garnered by “pain medicine addiction” and related scandals in the popular media, it’s important to point out that adequate postoperative pain management really does bring numerous benefits. For example, it brings increased patient comfort, increased recovery speed, reduced postoperative morbidity (risk of death), and often means the patient spends less time in the hospital. Patients who don’t have their pain adequately controlled are at risk for reduced quality of life as well as a greater chance of dying.

Sometimes, patients themselves are fearful of accepting treatment because they think it will lead them to become addicts. As surprising as it may sound, some individuals are extremely conscientious and after hearing stories of celebrities or others who’ve succumbed to addiction, they may experience excessive fear. The good news for these types of patients is that it’s extremely rare to develop opioid (i.e. narcotic pain medicine) addiction in response to acute pain management. Pain management therapies that are administered in the hospital or following surgery just work to relieve symptoms and speed the healing process. True addiction, on the other hand, is characterized by increased tolerance to the drug, impaired control over drug use, compulsive use of the drug, cravings, and continued use despite experiencing harm. Unless a patient has a history of addiction problems, there is no reason to avoid supervised treatment with opioid drugs for postoperative care.

ENTs treat patients via surgery, but may also see patients complaining of migraines, cluster headaches, or neuralgia in the head or neck (neuralgia is pain that is due to problems with the nerves and which is sharp or stabbing). In these instances, opioids may not be the best option. For example, neuropathic pain can actually be treated using antidepressants that prevent reabsorption of neurotransmitters like serotonin or dopamine. By helping to stop pain signals from being transmitted, these medicines lessen the patients’ experiences of pain even if they do not fix the underlying neurological causes for pain. Another type of treatment that can be applied for face or neck pain is neural blockade, which works to completely shut down the neural impulses sending pain signals. If none of the therapies mentioned here are effective, a pain psychologist can also be consulted. Pain psychologists can assist patients in developing management skills to combat symptoms and live more balanced lives.

To summarize, there are various pain management tools available to physicians and patients alike. ENTs or otolaryngologists may use these therapies to treat patients post-operatively, to alleviate their headache pain, or to treat neuralgia.

To learn more about your pain management options, speak with your physician. To learn more about pain management jobs, ENT jobs, or otolaryngology jobs, visit PhysEmp.com

To learn more about your own pain management options, speak with your physician. To learn more about ENT jobs, pain management jobs, or otolaryngology jobs, visit http://PhysEmp.com

Author Bio: To learn more about your pain management options, speak with your physician. To learn more about pain management jobs, ENT jobs, or otolaryngology jobs, visit PhysEmp.com

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: pain management jobs, ENT jobs, otolaryngology jobs, physician jobs, physician careers