Improving the Medical Pain Scale

Or, “Say Eight!”

You’ve probably seen some version of that chart before.  You may also have noticed how inadequate it is at helping you.  Based on the faces, this is what the chart communicates:

0:  Haha!  I’m not wearing any pants!

2:  Awesome!  Someone just offered me a free hot dog!

4:  Huh.  I never knew that about giraffes.

6:  I’m sorry about your cat, but can we talk about something else now?  I’m bored.

8:  The ice cream I bought barely has any cookie dough chunks in it.  This is not what I expected and I am disappointed.

10:  You hurt my feelings and now I’m crying!

None of that is medically useful and it doesn’t even have all the numbers, here is a better one with all the numbers:


0:  Hi.  I am not experiencing any pain at all.  I don’t know why I’m even here.

1:  I am completely unsure whether I am experiencing pain or itching or maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth.

2:  I probably just need a Band Aid.

3:  This is distressing.  I don’t want this to be happening to me at all.

4:  My pain is not fooling around.

5:  Why is this happening to me??

6:  Ow.  Okay, my pain is super legit now.

7:  The jaws of hell have begun to open and I’m scared.

8:  I am experiencing a disturbing amount of pain.  I might actually be dying.  Please help.

9:  I am almost definitely dying.

10:  I am actively being mauled by a bear.

11: Blood is going to explode out of my face at any moment.

Too Serious For Numbers:  You probably have ebola.  It appears that you may also be suffering from Stigmata and/or pinkeye.

via Hyperbole and a Half