Hospitals should prescribe a hefty dose of computer gaming to help patients overcome their pain, a study in the journal BMC Paediatrics suggests.

Scientists in Australia found that children distracted in a virtual world of guns and mean monsters experienced less pain than those given only painkillers.

Debashish Das and colleagues at the Adelaide Women's and Children's hospital tested the effect of computer games on seven children aged five to 18 who were being treated for acute burns. The most distressing part of their care involved changing dressings. All were given painkillers, but on set occasionswere allowed to immerse themselves in a monster shooting game while their dressings were changed.

The children were then asked to rank how much pain they experienced by pointing to cartoon faces indicating different states of distress.

The researchers found that the average pain score was 4.1 out of 10 with painkillers alone, but 1.3 when the children took painkillers and played the computer game.