What do you suggest to relieve wound packing pain?

Premedicate: Take pain medication prior to the procedure. I personally like to give patients rapid onset opioids (roo) in these situations. Medications such as subsys, Actiq or Fentora can be a big help. The key however is to take the medication in advance of the painful procedure.

Pain is pain: As wounds heal, there is inflammation of which pain is an important part. Premedication is an excellent idea but minimizing pain helps as much. Using dressings that do not dry and stick to the wounds (calcium alginates/hydrogels) help a lot. Gently inserting instead of jamming also goes along way to minimizing the pain. Pain means that the nerves are bring irritated which tells us to go slow.