Figure: Faces Pain Scale for children aged about 5 years onwards (7).

Instructions for taking a medical history of the child’s pain situation: "These faces show how much something can hurt. This face (point to left-most face) shows no pain. The faces show more and more pain (point to each from left to right) up to this one (point to right-most face) – it shows very much pain. Point to the face that shows how much you hurt (right now)."

To convert to a points system and document in the patient curve, score the chosen face 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, counting left to right. From a score of four onwards there is an analgesic requirement for acute pain. (www.painsourcebook.ca). Figure with kind permission of ISAP