- 19057
IVPCA is used to try to help keep your pain from becoming very bad or out of control. Because you control when you receive your pain medicine, you can use it when you need it. If you are more comfortable, this will help you heal by allowing you to sleep, take deep breaths, cough, walk, and visit with family and friends.
There are a number of advantages to getting your pain medicine with a PCA pump. Because PCA goes through the IV, it takes away the need to get your pain medicine by a painful “shot”. There are also differences in the amount of pain medicine each patient needs to control their pain. PCA allows the patient to help decide how much medicine is enough. In addition, because you control the pump button, you are able to give yourself extra medicine at the time you need it, instead of having to wait for your nurse or doctor to get it and give it to you.
PCA uses a specially designed pump to allow pain medicine to be given through your IV line. Sometimes a small amount of pain medicine is given all the time by the pump. In addition, you will have a PCA button that is attached to the pump. It looks like a video game button. You can press the button to give yourself some extra pain medicine from the pump when you hurt, or you can use it 5 or 10 minutes before you are getting out of bed or doing something else that you know will hurt.
Because it is harder to fix pain if it gets really bad, when you start to feel pain, push the PCA button. If after a few minutes, the pain is still there, push the button again. Let your nurse or doctor know if the pain medicine is not working.
The PCA pump will be set to give you an amount of medicine which is generally safe for someone your size and age, and experiencing your type of medical problem or surgery. If this is too much medicine for you, the amount can be made smaller. If it is not enough, the amount of medicine can be made bigger. To make things as safe as we can, the pump will be programmed to limit the size, number, and frequency of doses of pain medicine you will receive. This should allow you to get enough medicine, but makes it very hard for you to give yourself too much pain medicine.
To make things as safe as we can, it is very important that no one push the PCA button except you, the patient.
Medicines called opioids (sometimes called “narcotics”) are used to treat pain. The opioid medicines most commonly used are morphine, Nalbuphine, or fentanyl. Which medicine is used depends on your size, age, and type of pain or pain problem. These medicines work by stopping the pain message as it travels from the area experiencing the pain to the brain and spinal cord.
There are a number of bothersome side effects that can happen when you are given opioid pain medicines. Itching is a very common side effect of the pain medicine in the PCA pump. In general, this itching is not an allergic reaction. Nausea, with or without vomiting, can occur from pain medicine. Pain medicine also slows the bowel and may cause constipation (hard bowel movements). Many patients receiving PCA are ordered to receive medicines to treat these side effects when and if they occur.
Some children have problems urinating while on pain medicines. Usually, reducing the dose of medicine is helpful to treat this side effect.
Sleepiness and slow breathing are the most serious side effects of IV pain medicine, but do not happen often. Most children receiving IVPCA will have their heart and breathing monitored once their pain medicine is started, and their nurse will check them often. If these side effects do occur, the pain medicines can be decreased and if needed, medicine can be given to reverse these serious side effects.
As you get better, your pain will naturally be less over time. You will find that you need to push the PCA button less often than you did at first. When you are able to eat, you will receive pain medicine that you can take by mouth. The amount of oral pain medicine you are taking can be adjusted so that you are more comfortable if this is the case.
Drug addiction is a very common fear and something that many children are learning about in school. Addiction means that someone is taking the medicines (opioids) for psychological reasons, not for physical pain. Many scientific studies have been done with patients who get medicines like morphine for pain. It is extremely rare for addiction to occur in patients who are taking medicines to treat pain.
The need for blood for 57357 patients never stops. So if you are in good health and your age is between 18 and 65 and weighing more than 50 kg, donate your blood today to support a child during a critical time of their treatment journey. You can do that during one of your visits to the hospital.
Please visit 57357’s blood bank located on the ground floor, we are available from 8am to 8pm every day. Please fill in this form available on line
If you are working in a large company or institution or member of a religious or social organization where several co-workers and members are interested in making a donation, we can organize for a mobile blood drive at your end. For more information, please fill-in this form or contact our mobile drive coordinator on 19057
Hospital 57357 provides all its services to all children with cancer for free. The 57357 Foundation which is responsible for fundraising and ensuring the sustainability of the Hospital is a legal independent non-profit entity registered under the social solidarity ministry. The mission of the 57357 institution is to build a sustainable foundation to prevent and combat cancer through Research, Smart Education and Quality Healthcare provided with passion and justice to alleviate the suffering of children with cancer and their families Free Of Charge.
Most of the Egyptians are eligible to donate blood at any given time, so there’s a very good chance you meet the criteria.
For most donations, these are the basic requirements:
1- Good Health: You generally feel well, even if you’re being treated for a chronic condition.
2- Age: If your age is between 18-65 years old then you are eligible to donate blood and blood components.
3- Weight: must be above 50kg.
4- Have not donated blood in the last 60 days
