Intervention
Oral sucrose or glucose solutions – directly onto the tongue.
Indication
Sweet solution given directly to the tongue causes an orally mediated increase in endogenous opioids.
One of the common causes of procedural pain in infants up to 12 months of age is immunisations.
Other painful procedures in infants include blood tests, suture removal, dressings and adhesive tape removal.
Contraindications
Infants with known fructose or sucrose intolerance.
Precautions
Sweet solutions are not suitable for lengthy or significantly painful procedures as sucrose and glucose have mild analgesic effects. They are only suitable for decreasing short-term pain during minor procedures.
Note that infants of mothers taking methadone during pregnancy may have altered endogenous opioid systems. Sweet solutions may have no analgesic effect for the first days to weeks of life.
Availability
A pharmacist may be able to supply a ready mixed bottled product, which can be stored in the fridge.
Pre-packed products are available:
Tips and challenges
Breastfeeding during painful minor procedures such as immunisations may reduce infants’ heart rate, pain, and duration of crying, and may have a similar effect to a sucrose solution.