Gee, they finally figured it out: minimally conscious people feel pain

I hate the term, "vegetative state" but it’s one that many people understand. It’s the way people describe those who are barely conscious. They need to be kept alive by feeding tubes, cleaned, bathed and cared for. Sadly, it’s been thought by many that as long as people are minimally conscious, they don’t feel pain.

I’ve never agreed with that. I’ve had patients who I was caring for grimace as I turned and positioned them. They were obviously responding to something painful either by groaning or their facial expressions. And why wouldn’t they feel pain? They’re not unconscious.

Well, researchers have finally figured it out by measuring brain activity in five minimally conscious patients. They found that there was definitely an increase in brain activity when they patients were exposed to something painful.

Ok, now we agree – they feel pain. Can we please do something about it now???

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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, pain, feeling pain