Why we feel pain and how pain is produced? How pain killer works?

Pain is not a very good feeling. In fact, we hate pain. But just like other feelings pain is also product of our Mr.Brain’s magnificent electro-chemical expertise. Why the hell brain creates such an intense unpleasant feeling which we hate so freaking much.

But pain may not be good but it is necessary. 

You are feeling pain means brain is informing you that your body is taking some damage. If we touch a hot thing or press our hand against a tip of needle unconsciously, our hand moves away from it by itself. These automatic involuntary reflexes are for protection of our body from harm.

Now, when you get a cut, brain creates feeling of pain to draw your attention to that damaged part. Its brain’s way to tell, ‘Your body suffered some damage and do something about it!’

And pain is very compelling; if there were no pain, we wouldn’t even bother treat a cut or even worse. Few people has reduced sensation of pain because of mutation in SCN9A gen and they can walk

around with broken ankle or deep wound without feeling much pain but that injury becomes more serious over time. Luckily that condition is found very rarely; so almost all us have our brain warn us through pain about damages in our body.

Pain is for informing you of damage or something wrong about in your body that is why in most of the diseases we feel pain as our brain responds to unpleasant changes inside our body.

Now, how pain is generated?

Our nerve receptors are constantly picking up signals from outside world. There is a specialized receptor called nociceptors for feeling of pain.

If you touch blunt edge of a thing, you don’t feel pain as it is not doing any damage like penetrating your skin to make nociception fire a signal. But if you touch pointy needle and it penetrates your skin, that stimulation hits the nociceptive threshold and then ‘ouch’. The nociceptor’s work is like sending SOS in distress and it makes brain aware that “body is taking damage”.

Then some of your tissues are damaged brain sends some tuning chemical at that place to lower the nociceptve threshold of that area. That’s why a simple touch on a bruise hurts like hell.

There are different types of nociceptors :

Thermal nociceptors are activated by too much heat or cold

Mechanical nociceptors reacts when too much pressure or mechanical force doing damage like when someone use you as punching bag.

Chemical nocicpetor responses to unpleasant chemical changes  like you being poisoned or some bacteria is doing chemical party inside you.

And sleeping nociceptor which only activates when you are really injured and when this silent daddy shouts shout in pain too.

Inflammation:

Generally damage cell releases arachidonic acid.

It interacts with two cyclo-oxygenase enzymes, COX1 and COX2.

And we get prostaglandin which is culprit for inflammation, increased heartbeat.

Actually, in this case, inflammation is our immune system’s response to presence of prostaglandin.

How pain killer works?

We get prostaglandin when arachidonic acid reacts with COX enzymes.

So, common painkillers have chemicals which neutralize either arachidonic acid or COX enzyme.

Like aspirine has salacin which produce salicylic acid and blocks cox 1.

Ibuprofen derived from propionic acid blocks arachidonic acid.Paracetamol takes charge after arachidonic acid merges with cox enzymes and it blocks effect of created compound.

That is all for now. Please watch the video for simpler and complete explaination.

Follow The Journal on Youtube for weekly releases: The Journal (Knowledge for Everyone)

I am Saphyaire,
Signing off for now and take care