Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

If you have a cut and you don't know about it, will it hurt? If you find out later, how come it starts hurting

mathsmart25,

You may wish to ask this in the Life, Earth, and Social Sciences forum. It's not a math or computer science question. I wonder if you can cut yourself without feeling it, at least in a resting state. Also, there are several phases which can cause pain, such as the initial cut itself and later inflammatory processes. Whether or not you are in an intense fight or flight response probably changes pain perception as well.

Heinz

I have always wondered how pain works. But now that I have looked at the "No Pain, Lots of Game", and some other web sites I know how pain works.
Thank you for your help!!

I am working with a partner and we both wonder what would happen if you have pain and it can be solved by a distraction. Can it really work? is what my teacher is asking. I told him we will wait and see.

Hi mathsmart25,

You've come up with a really good question! Speaking from experience, I can tell you that I get little paper cuts on my hands all the time and don't realize it until I wash my hands - then they sting a bit. (Of course, other people might feel the cuts right away if their skin is sensitive.) One potential explanation I can offer is that our bodies have nociceptors, or pain receptors, some of which are "sleeping" or "silent." Why? They function when a wounded area becomes inflamed, not immediately after we develop wounds. I haven't found any papers describing this curious scenario, but I also think that there are psychological or behavioral aspects involved. As soon as we become aware of our wounds, for instance, we feel the pain because we get used to equating wounds with pain. That's just a notion we develop early on in life. Does this mean that if I were to never become aware of a cut, I wouldn't feel a thing? Not necessarily. I'd still have my nociceptors to remind me of the pain! If you're curious about why exactly cuts hurt, read this: http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentof ... aper-cuts/.

Hope this helps,
RM

Hi,

Welcome to Science Buddies! I understand that you are doing this project; it is an excellent project to help understand how the human brain works.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p016.shtml

You will need to tell your test subjects that they will be putting their toes in ice water, and you will need consent forms from all of your test subjects.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ects.shtml

Please let us know if you have any other questions about doing your project.


Donna Hardy