Yes, humans need to feel pain. Pain is a crucial protective mechanism.
The Importance of Pain Perception
Our ability to experience pain is essential for survival. Pain signals warn us about potential or actual damage to our bodies. This allows us to take protective actions, preventing further injury and promoting healing. As stated in an article from Pfizer, "When our pain receptors are working effectively, pain is a useful way for our bodies to tell our brains when a stimulus is a threat to our overall well-being." https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/the_good_the_bad_and_the_strange_of_physical_pain
Examples of Pain's Protective Role:
- Touching a hot stove: Pain immediately alerts you to retract your hand, preventing serious burns.
- Developing an infection: Pain indicates inflammation and infection, prompting you to seek medical attention.
- Experiencing a fracture: Pain signals the need for immobilization and medical intervention to heal the broken bone.
The absence of pain, as seen in conditions like congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), can lead to severe self-harm and injury due to the lack of warning signals. Individuals with CIP often suffer from unnoticed and untreated injuries, resulting in significant health problems. The BBC article, "The curse of the people who never feel pain," details the challenges faced by those with this condition. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170426-the-people-who-never-feel-any-pain
While pain can be debilitating, its primary function is to safeguard our health. Although pain is processed differently and expressed variably, it plays a vital role in our overall well-being. As noted by NIH MedlinePlus, "When you are in pain, it's because your nervous system thinks that a part of your body is injured or in danger of getting injured." https://magazine.medlineplus.gov/article/ouch-that-hurts-the-science-of-pain This highlights the protective function of pain perception.
