Cold and Reduced Episiotomy Pain Interfere with Mood and Daily Activity

Abstract

Introduction: The interference of acute episiotomy pain with daily activity needs more attention and the application of cold is one method to reduce these complications. Materials and Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 121 healthy women have been chosen and divided in three groups of control and cold therapy (using pad containing cooling gel and ice pack). Subjects took the sedatives during the first four hours and then based upon the severity of perineal pain. The sedation of pain has been evaluated using numerical rating scale (0-100%) and the interference of pain with ten daily activities has been evaluated using numerical rating scale (0-10) in the first, second, fifth, and tenths days. Results: There is a significant statistic difference in sedation of pain between the three groups in the first, second, fifth, and tenth days and the interference of pain with mood, sitting, babysitting, social activities, urination in the tenth day, defecation in the second, fifth, and tenth day (p Conclusion: Pad containing cooling gel acts better than ice pack in reducing the complications of episiotomy.