Why do cuts only hurt when we see them?
Asked by
XOIIO (
18328
)
August 31st, 2011
I got a pretty bloody gash on my thumb today, and didn’t notice it till i felt something wet on the rest of my hand, and there was blood everywhere. A couple seconds after seeing it it started stinging like a b*tch. It had to ave been bleeding for a fair amount of time, so why does it only start hurting once we’ve seen it?
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8 Answers
I don’t think this is true for me, at all. I have found injuries that I couldn’t see, simply because they hurt. I have also had plenty of cuts and bumps and bruises in plain sight that didn’t hurt at all.
I suppose if it were to start hurting once you notice it, your mind could be playing a trick on you. I guess, anyhow.
Oh I hate that! It happens to me as well. I think its because we are to busy on other things that we don’t acknowledge the pain.
The mind is a beautiful thing. That very anomaly that “makes it hurt when we see it” can be altered and used in our favor. Monks use it to meditate and withstand crushing blows from brick wielding maniacs. Olympians use it to fight through the pain and get gold medals. Learning to control the flow of stimuli to the brain can be a very useful skill indeed.
As far as the actual question goes.. I think sometimes there is just too much stimuli flowing to the brain and it takes one more sense that is focused on the same thing to muscle its way through the door and make it to the brain. When two red flags appear saying “hello? dude, you have a gash on your thumb.” , it gets more attention than just one.
I would probably go a bit further and say it don’t hurt until you are aware of it.
When I gave birth to my 1st child, I didnt know he had ‘ripped’ me until my midwife had said so. Then, the friend I had with me, holding my hand through the entire birthing had said, ‘the burning must be terrible’. I had no pain or ‘burning’ until after she had said that.
During my 2nd delivery, I had asked that nobody mention any pain or burning, because I had found out I was weak minded during my 1st delivery. Would you believe it? My 2nd child who had weighed 2½ lbs. MORE was actually LESS pain!
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You dont know how long it was tehre before you noticed it. I’ve watched myself slice my thumb before on accident. I look at it, and have enough time to watch it before the blood comes. A couple of seconds later, it hurts. I think if the object is sharp enough, it can slice the top layers of skin without alerting our brain right away.
I cut the top of my knuckles yesterday with a knife.That hurt at the time I did it.
I also scalded my thigh with boiling water.That also hurt at the time.
I really need to stay out of the kitchen
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