Are Pain and Discomfort one and the same?

Are Pain and Discomfort one and the same?
[Name]
[University]
Since pain is now considered the fifth vital sign, can the terms truly be used interchangeably or should they be used as distinct patient needs?
Patients who are unable to describe pain and the health care professionals, who specifically fall short to diagnose pain, represent the biggest and most serious hindrances in the relief of pain. However, considering pain as the fifth vital sign has actually brought ease to the overall assessment procedure and the treatment in order to relief pain. In addition to this it has helped in the elimination of most of the pain control barriers. Generally pain can be measured through using the scale of extreme and insignificant discomfort. Since vital signs are used so as to represent cases on measurable scales therefore pain and discomfort can now be used interchangeably (Lynch M, 2001).
Does each one merit as aggressive treatment as other?
In order to treat pain, it was introduced as the fifth vital sign so that it can be rated on a (0-10) scale of discomfort (Richard A Mularski, 2006). The aggressive treatment of pain and discomfort largely depends upon the measuring scale and the extent to which pain is identified. In broader terms pain requires to be treated more aggressively than discomfort because pain represents higher values of discomfort on the measuring scale whereas discomfort shows comparatively lower values (Pappagallo M, 1999).
What might a patient be experiencing when discomfort is reported rather than pain?
Discomfort refers to comparatively low level of pain on the measuring scale. This indicates that in case of discomfort, patients might be experiencing physical uneasiness and trouble in doing different tasks within the tolerance level. Mild pain is usually identified in case of discomfort with fatigue and uneven breaths. In addition to this patients might also undergo other psychological symptoms, for instance, worrying, anx...