pain

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Baby's Smile May Be Misleading

Infants' facial expressions don't tell all: study

(Newser) - A spoonful of sugar may not help the medicine go down after all. The theory that a dose of sucrose wards off pain for babies during medical procedures is being challenged by new research from a team of British doctors, who found that the infants still manifested a pain response...

Your Brain Can't Tell Which Tooth Aches

Scientists are trying to get a handle on mouth pain

(Newser) - A new study confirms what a lot of dentists already know: patients are often way off when they try to pinpoint a toothache. In fact, the brain can't seem to differentiate whether the pain is coming from the top or bottom row, Wired reports. It can pinpoint discomfort precisely in...

Removing a Bandage Quickly Does Hurt Less
 Removing a Bandage 
 Quickly Does Hurt Less 
SCIENCE SETTLES IT
Dec 14, 2009 5:27 PM CST

Removing a Bandage Quickly Does Hurt Less

Adhesive causes more pain for men than for women

(Newser) - Australian scientists have settled a long-running debate by confirming a popular assumption: It does, in fact, hurt less to remove an adhesive bandage quickly than to do so gradually. The researchers tested the pain levels of medical students who ripped off Band-Aids at different speeds and had them rate the...

Swearing Reduces Pain
 Swearing Reduces Pain 
THAT %#*&! SMARTS
Nov 9, 2009 1:48 PM CST

Swearing Reduces Pain

Coarse words help us deal with painful stimuli

(Newser) - If your reaction to slamming your finger in a door is to curse the air blue, you might be onto something: A new study shows that swearing relieves pain. Intrigued by the fact that people seem to swear in painful situations, UK researchers put the idea to the test: they...

Touch of Money Can Help You Resist Pain

(Newser) - The feel of green can make people more resistant to low-level pain, NPR reports. Building on earlier research about the psychological power of money, experts in China conducted a study asking subjects to dip their fingers in water heated to 122 degrees Fahrenheit; those who had counted money ahead of...

Swearing Cuts Pain, Dammit
 Swearing Cuts Pain, Dammit 
Jul 12, 2009 12:05 PM CDT

Swearing Cuts Pain, Dammit

Scientists suggest link to fight-or-flight response

(Newser) - Stubbed your toe? Let loose a torrent of profanity and you may actually feel better, a study suggests. Scientists had subjects stick their hands in ice water for as long as they could, once while cursing and again using only G-rated language. The researchers discovered that cursing subjects could keep...

No Wonder They're Crabby: Crabs Feel Pain

Laws should consider the suffering of crustaceans, scientist says

(Newser) - Before you drop another crab into a boiling pot of water, take note: Crabs feel pain. Scientists don’t fully understand pain in humans, but do now know that crustaceans respond to discomfort and keep a memory of it, LiveScience reports. Hermit crabs that were shocked fled their shells, “...

Want a Mind-Blowing Orgasm? Have a Kid

Labor pains can be overwhelmed by pleasure, some say

(Newser) - Going into labor, most women would agree, is not much fun. But for Amber Hartnell of Hawaii, childbirth offered "the most overwhelming pleasure I have ever felt in my life"—a 4-hour sexual climax. As the Guardian reports, she's one of the women in a recent documentary on...

Bush Gets Shoulder MRI, Visits Soldiers at Walter Reed

President's pain likely just result of wear and tear, docs say

(Newser) - President Bush underwent an MRI today after complaining of pain in his shoulder, the AP reports. The test was done at Walter Reed Medical Center where Bush was visiting convalescing Iraq war veterans, perhaps for the last time during his presidency. A White House doctor said the injury had not...

5 Facts About Pain
 5 Facts About Pain
Jul 28, 2008 5:55 AM CDT

5 Facts About Pain

And why it's hard to treat

(Newser) - Electrical signals carry pain impulses to the brain—that much scientists know. But how to treat pain remains a question, LiveScience reports. Here's the scoop:
  1. It "is a complex mixture of emotions, culture, experience, spirit, and sensation," one expert said. In other words, it's hard to even define.
...

That Irritating Itch? It May Just Be Your Brain

In fact, our noodles could be inventing 90% of what we call real

(Newser) - A woman suffers from an itch so severe that she scratches right through to her brain—yet doctors find no medical ailment. War victims feel the sensations of a real limb—but from phantom appendages. What does it all add up to? Perhaps a new understanding of how our brains...

Hypertension Linked to Fewer Migraines

High blood pressure may interfere with pain signals

(Newser) - Beta blockers and other medications that lower blood pressure are routinely prescribed for migraines, but now a new study has discovered that people with high blood pressure had 40% fewer headaches. "This is a paradox," the lead researcher told WebMD. One possibility is that high blood pressure interferes...

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