Althouse: Feeling no pain.

July 8, 2012

Feeling no pain.

A dangerous problem.

9 comments:

Bob Ellison said...: Indeed, a horrible handicap. But I agree with Yossarian on pain.; 7/8/12, 8:51 AM
ndspinelli said...: I felt no pain during my entire college career.; 7/8/12, 8:53 AM
bandmeeting said...: Old news. http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Pain-The-Paul-Brand/dp/0310221447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341755657&sr=8-1&keywords=the+gift+of+pain; 7/8/12, 8:55 AM
edutcher said...: Just like never being afraid. These are the things that help keep us safe.; 7/8/12, 9:15 AM
Larry J said...: There's a girl near Colorado Springs who has a similar condition. Extreme Makeovers Home Edition built a special house for her. IIRC, it has indoor recreation facilities since she can't go outside very often.

I went to Army basic training with a guy who had little sense of pain but not as extreme as these cases. He told me of the times he'd scalded himself while growing up. Feeling little or no pain sounds good until you realize pain is there for a reason.; 7/8/12, 9:16 AM
Gabriel Hanna said...: Leprosy damages nerves, and many of the effects that are stereotypical of leprosy are largely due to the infections acquired by people who feel no pain.; 7/8/12, 9:52 AM
SunnyJ said...: Working in Physical Therapy I have repeatedly been concerned abou the societal myths regarding pain. Primarily, "No pain, no gain" and that "Pain is the enemy and to be avoided at all costs". Both are equally misinformed. One leads to injuries and disuse including abnormal aging and the other to the avoidance techniques of inactivity, drugs and dissociation with our bodies.

Food is not good or bad...it's fuel. Pain is not good or bad...it's a signal. There is no settled science..or anything for that matter as we live in a dynamic universe programmed with a CQI process all its own.

Reasoning is a lost art.; 7/8/12, 10:13 AM
leslyn said...: I bet this story is the result of someone who read/watched "The Girl Who..." trilogy and wondered, "Can there be such a thing?"; 7/8/12, 11:47 AM
MisterBuddwing said...: Ah, yes. Third-season episode of "House, M.D." in which the not-so-good doctor, who suffers constant leg pain, comes face to face with a teenage girl with CIPA.

Hannah Morganthal: I'm not scared. I'm never scared.

Dr. Gregory House: [sighs] See? How juvenile was that? You can't feel pain. Nothing left, but pleasure. Why don't you tell me how wonderful that is?

Hannah Morganthal: It sucks.

Dr. Gregory House: Better than being in pain all the time. Get in the chair.

Hannah Morganthal: Every morning, I have to check my eyes to make sure I didn't scratch a cornea in my sleep.

Dr. Gregory House: Oh, God, stop. I'm in a pool of tears here.

Hannah Morganthal: I can't cry.

Dr. Gregory House: Neither can I. Every morning, I check my eyes for jaundice in case the Vicodin's finally shot my liver.

Hannah Morganthal: I can't run anywhere without examining all my toes for swelling.

Dr. Gregory House: I can't run.

Hannah Morganthal: Boys can't hold me for too long because I can overheat.

Dr. Gregory House: Girls can't hold me for too long because I only pay for an hour.

Hannah Morganthal: I need an alarm on my watch to remind me to go to the bathroom. Know how many humiliating experiences before I thought of that?

Dr. Gregory House: Bathroom is 50 feet from my office. Every drink of water, I weigh the pros and cons.

Hannah Morganthal: After everything I do, I self-check. Mouth, tongue, gums for cuts, count teeth, check temperature, fingers, toes and joints for swelling, skin for bruises.

Dr. Gregory House: I got shot.; 7/8/12, 4:40 PM