Male infants are routinely given a sweet solution prior to circumcision for analgesia.
Michelis and Hoyle recently published a great review of the possible use of sweet solutions in the ED for pediatric patients.
Pediatric patients often undergo painful, but rather routine procedures in the ED such as IV and urinary catheter placement, venipuncture, and lumbar punctures.
More often than not, however, they are not provided analgesia prior to these procedures.
It is believed that repetitive early pain events lead to anxiety and other behavioral disorders while also decreasing pain tolerance.
In children less than 12 months, consider giving a sweet solution (2mL of 24% sucrose) 2 minutes before any painful procedure.
Multiple studies indicate decreased pain as measured by significantly reduced crying times.
It's cheap, safe, and works!
References
Michelis EA, Hoyle JD. Sweet Solutions and Needle-Related Pain in Infants. Ann of Emerg Med. 2014, Vol 63, Issue3.
Kassab M, Foster J, Fowler C. Sweet-tasting solutions for needle related procedureal pain in infants one month to one year. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD008411.
Stevens B, Yamada J, Ohlsson A. Sucrose for analgesia in newborn infants undergoing painful procedures. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(1):
