HOW MUCH DOES PAIN HURT?

Since there’s no way to objectively measure pain, doctors have to rely on subjective methods, such as asking a patient to rate their pain on a scale of zero to ten. These methods are obviously not adequate, leading to a lot of under- and over-treatment, so researchers are trying to finally devise an reliable measurement of pain.

The answer or answers may lie in the eyes, the AP reported. One technique under investigation looks at the optic nerve to see how it responds to certain types of pain. Another idea: The pupil may respond to a flash of light in a tell-tale way when the patient is in pain.

Pain, the researchers said, is complicated, leading some patients to recover rapidly while others suffer an entire lifetime, which is why opioids have had such mixed results.

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