Cold (1 Viewer)

[noneother]

Why is it when its cold and you bump your fingers/toes slightly it feels so much more painful than when its hot?

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

when its cold there is vasoconstriction to keep warmth to ure torso rather than ure peripheries..

when u bump there is stimulation of touch/pain receptors and releases pain mediator chemicals that stay in the tissue longer and keep stimulating the fast pain receptors..

since there is less circulation and lower tissue perfusion there is a slower clearance of the excess mediators from around site of the injury..

well tats wat i think.. but im not 100% sure... i think there is another explaination.. to do with temperature and pain fibres

 

[inasero]

im not sure of the answer but alvins answer sounds pretty logical...

also...i think it is because you would notice the inflammation alot more than if your toes/fingers were warm to begin with, and inflammation is associated with stimulation of pain receptors so yeah...

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

the cold numbs it because of perfusion to the nerve ends.. apparently
.. but yeah there is sumfing to do with Factor P of skeletal muscles and C fibres..

 

[petar13]

I remember reading about this a while ago. When it becomes colder, the thyroid gland swells, and begins releasing more of a chemical called thyroxine (spelling?). What thyroxine does, is that it lifts your metabolism, which would otherwise be painfully slow in very cold weather. You probably wouldn't survive otherwise. I think that increased nervous sensitivity is a side effect of the increased levels of thyroxine.
Hope that somehow helps (and not too late...).

Petar.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

umm u get lots of things with thyroxine (T4).. and triiodothyronine (T3)..
hyperthyroid ppl get sensitive to seasons.. and esp hate heat tho...

sounds interesting.. good thought..

//edit: actualli i decided to read up on thyroxine as a drug.. and i cant find an overdose symptom resembling... kickin ure foot when its cold..