I Decided I've Got Too Much Wisdom.

So I had some of it taken out.

https://twitterwithbraincells.blogspot.com/2024/03/yep-cursed-myself-there.html

I also got two micro-fillers, essentially pre-fillings, done on my lower canines. Small holes in your teeth apparently being something else you're supposed to notice through the pain they cause.

Obviously I very badly burned my hands as an infant and I've often wondered whether that sort of did something to the way I experience pain. I'm now starting to worry it might be a bit of a problem.

At the most extreme you have the incredibly rare neurological condition Congenital Analgesia where the sufferer is physically incapable of experiencing pain. Which may sound really cool, like they're some sort of superhero or Bond villain. In reality it's a very serious life limiting and life threatening disability.

Pain being the body's way of protecting itself from serious injury. I'm sure we've all done the thing where we've accidentally touched a really hot surface like a grill-top or a pan with our hand. Only for your arm to snatch your hand away before you even notice what's going on.

That's the nerves in the spine identifying the pain as a sign of danger and removing your hand from the source of that danger. So quickly that your brain doesn't have time to get involved.

People with Congenital Analgesia don't have that response. So if they accidentally put their hand on a grill-top then their hand will stay on that grill-top until they turn around, look and consciously think that it is burning them so they need to take their hand away. By which time the skin on their hand will probably have melted and fused with the metal. Something which can most certainly happen, trust me.

So particularly when they're children people with Congenital Analgesia need to be constantly monitored and supervised. Otherwise they'll do something like fall and break a bone without noticing. Until the bone fragments end up slicing through an artery and they bleed to death. Which isn't very superhero like at all.

Obviously what I'm talking about is only me being towards the extremes of what's considered normal. Rather than any actual medical condition. However I'm currently kind of grateful that I broke a wisdom tooth.

If I hadn't then I probably wouldn't have noticed that I'd got the start of cavities on what are two far more important teeth. So wouldn't have gone to the dentist until they'd got so bad they needed to be taken out. Or worse an infection which would have cost me my lower jaw. Something I'm currently very attached to.

I had a similar thing a few years ago when I tore the cartilage in my knee. Sitting with my knees crossed I clumsily rammed one knee into the back of the other. However what really did the damage is that I then walked around as normal for the rest of the day. Obviously it hurt in the moment I did it but about 10 minutes later it didn't, so why should I do anything different?

Then after about 9-10 hours it didn't so much suddenly start to hurt as my knee locked in a really awkward position. Then stayed like that for the next six weeks.

Basically I'm now looking back at a lifetime of really dumb injuries. Suddenly wondering if they could all have been avoided. Perhaps with the help of a website entitled; "Yes, It's Supposed To Hurt."

Needless to say. I was able to cope with just local anaesthetic.