Pain is personal and how it’s felt differs from person to person. Supporting your customers to manage their acute pain effectively by providing appropriate advice and suitable treatment options can have a considerable positive effect on their quality of life. This is especially important as many customers (68%) tend to purchase the same OTC healthcare product most of the time,1 and 44% believe that a prescription is needed to obtain a pharmacy medicine.2
After completing this module, you will be able to:
Understand different pain profiles and how they impact customers’ quality of life
Recommend appropriate analgesia for a specific pain profile
Complete the care by providing customers with additional advice to help manage their pain appropriately
Acute pain begins suddenly and doesn’t last for long, whereas chronic pain is present for longer periods (after 3-6 months).3 It is often caused by an injury or trauma with varying levels of severity,3 and can have a significant impact on a customer’s ability to undertake their usual day-to-day activities.
Different types of pain will require different approaches for management, and customers may have specific concerns and preferences for their treatment.
Use WWHAM alongside open questions to understand your customer's pain, and tailor your advice accordingly
Follow up with more specific questions to build a complete picture of your customer's symptoms, concerns and the impact on their life
Discuss pain duration:
Describe the pain:
Discuss pain severity:
Daily impact of pain:
Find out about treatment:
Holistic care:
You could also support your customer by signposting them appropriately, e.g. to other healthcare professionals or alternative information sources, such as charitable organisations. You should always provide safety-netting advice for customers, so they know when to seek further medical help.
REMEMBER: managing pain can be very difficult for some people, both physically and mentally, therefore always show empathy.
Pain can be classified as MILD, MODERATE or SEVERE and your recommendations may differ according to the level of pain being experienced.
could be characterised as:4
Coming and going
Annoying but does not stop sufferers from undertaking their daily activities
Distracting, however most people can adapt to it
could be characterised as:4
Always there
Making it hard to concentrate or sleep
Not affecting the ability to get up, wash or dress
Possibly causing disruption to some normal activities, e.g. walking or exercise
could be characterised as:4
Always there and so bad it's hard to think or talk
Affecting the ability to sleep
Making it very hard to move, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, wash or dress
Limiting the ability to perform daily activities and can be very distracting
Content developed by Perrigo in association with CIG Healthcare Partnership.
© 2025 CIG Healthcare Partnership
MAT-7889 January 2025