Pain is experienced by children of every age, culture, demographic and physical or mental state. It is a complex and subjective experience influenced by physical, psychological, cognitive, cultural and situational factors. Pain is what the patient says it is.

Pain management is an essential and basic humanitarian standard in the care of injured children and our aim as caregivers is to relieve pain as early and as completely as possible. Unmanaged pain leads to short- and long-term adverse effects including delayed healing, along with increased risk of developing chronic pain syndromes, post-traumatic stress disorder and poor functional outcomes all of which can have a lifelong impact for the child. A structured and comprehensive approach to pain management in children is described using 3 pillars of intervention. These are physical, psychological, and pharmacological and are built on the core principles of paediatric care. Together these structural elements support a holistic and effective approach to pain management for children.

In low resource and conflict settings the prioritisation and capacity to manage pain may be extremely challenging. This guide will give the caregiver a toolbox to select what may be available and achievable at the time. Do what you can.