h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Did you know that there are very few pain sensors on the back of your hand?

I discovered this by burning the back of my hand in the oven, and it doesn't hurt at all.

Erm... there might be fewer pain receptors on the back of *your* hand, but I can't say that's true of mine (ouch) - NO, I didn't burn it, but a few jabs with a pin was enough to convince me.

Perhaps you should have a word with your doctor...

I didn't know this, and I'm not going to test it myself. I hope your burn heals quickly

You should take up boxing, Gnomon.

I think for boxing you need not to feel pain in or on your head. You certainly won't feel much by the end of a long boxing career.

It certainly hurt the time I burnt the back of my hand sufficiently to get down to the tendons

2Legs, I don't think fire juggling is an appropriate hobby for a blind person.

I've never let such enforcement of logic and common-sense guide anything I do I useually manage to burn the back of my hand, forearms etc., taking trays of bread in and out of the hot oven Though, the best cooking related burnt I got, was when I knocked a frying pan over, on the hob, (which had sausages in it), and my instict took over, (and I guess fear of loosing the sausages), and I caught the frying pan.... nearly* as bad as the time I got blisters all over my hands when using a quite strong oven cleaner chemical spray But it all heals up... I just need a 24 hour nurse on hand...

I can remember having canulas inserted into the veins in the back of my hand at various times in my life (4th childbirth age 37; pre-op colonoscopy age 51). It felt like someone was trying to saw off my hand with a blunt implement, and I could still feel the pain, long after the canula had been removed.

Oh, they're horrible things... Had dozens put into the backs of my hands two, useually one on each side, just before an opperation..
Mind, as painful as they are going in, its also rather painful, if you have one in, and a nurse sits on the edge of your bed, accidentially sitting on your hand, and ripping it out... Mind, those little sticky pad things they put on you can be quite painful when they come off... they always seem to use a rediculusly strong adhesive

ow ow ow

I was so ill at the time, it was just an addition to teh pain I was already in though I do recall I did yell a bit when it happened...
The chemical and sauscepan induced burns hung about for ages as I recall... I did go all sensible and actually buy a pair of rubber gloves/marigolds for future deep oven cleaning though

My experience has also been that burning on the back of my hand was certainly painful - I've done it on the iron. The canula problem I can sympathise with too - it's a very unpleasant feeling.

I learned a new word today. Cannula.

I've had my fair share of these. I may actually avoid having one this year as my doctor has decided I can go two years before my next MRI and then, if everything looks as good as the last one, I may never need another.

I had one nurse really bruise me good. What really irked me when she did it was that the previous one, who did the most painless stick I've ever had, told me that my veins tend to "roll" and took just a bit more care putting it in. I told the next nurse and she replied, "Oh, it's alright, I remember you". Funny that, I didn't remember her. And I'm very accustomed to people thinking they have met me. Us redheads all look alike, apparently.


Anyway, I'm not so sure there are fewer nerves on the back of your hand, specifically temperature sensitive ones. (I'm thinking about the iconic method of testing the temperature of baby's milk by splashing a few drops on the back of the hand).

I'd say, either you
a) got lucky and just missed most of them,
b) didn't burn yourself as badly as you thought you did,
c) burnt yourself WORSE than you thought you did destroying some nerves while doing so,
d) or possibly might have some other nerve damage between your hand and your spine that might be causing some numbness in that area.

I wouldn't worry about it but I'd keep it in mind if you notice any other signs of numbness. Could just be a matter of aging.

Wasn't that what Robert de Niro said? 'Bring the canula'?

IF you have a deep burn you do burn through the pain receptors and they don't hurt at all. The burns that hurt a great deal are the ones which are on the

Cannulation? I've had numerous ones in me, usually when I'm teaching I get the students to practice on me. I don't see it as a big deal, and don't find it that painful. I've also put in more cannulas than I care to mention, most have been ok, but some haven't gone that well and I just wince at the memory. When I'm doing full time ward work I have the dubious honor of being 'the one they get when no one else can'. I don't think a painful cannulation is always the fault of the person putting one it, because I've done exactly the same thing numerous times usually pretty much the same technique, and some people say that it's 'hurts and it's the worst thing ever' and some people say 'Is that it! You're the best doctor ever'.

(Yes there are some techniques which aren't very good, and increase the chances of pain, but I don't use them.).

Oh, it wasn't a bad burn. I was just surprised that it hurt at the time and then an hour later didn't hurt at all.

It's certainly true that the touch sensors in the back of your hand are much further apart and fewer than in the palm of your hand. You can stick two pins into the back of your hand and feel only one, if they are 1cm apart.

But even if there are fewer pain receptors, which is not the same thing, it doesn't necessarily mean the pain would be any less.

I don't feel needles going in whoever is doing them, whether canulars, blood tests or Flu-jabs. I'm quite happy sitting watching them go in. The one that does cause me an issue and is bl**dy painful is the B12 jab. Its almost like they've forgotten to put a point on the end of the needle. The fact it goes directly into a muscle doesn't help. Thank bob its only 1 every 3 mths.

I did recently read about a Japanese scientist working on needles that mimic the proboscis of a mosquito. As odd as it sounds, a vibrating, serrated needle may cause less pain than a smooth one.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928044.900-mosquito-needle-helps-take-sting-out-of-injections.html

Of course, that may be little help for B12 shots as I believe those take large bore needles and this technology may not scale.