Which injury/combination of injuries is the most painful?

[NerdyCavegirl]

This is all personal opinion of course, I'd rather get stabbed than have a headache any day, so what injury do you think would be the most unpleasant? Your arm being ripped out of socket by a giant squid, a ruptured spleen and the subsequent operation to repair it, having one twin prematurely in battle then getting the other one cut out by an enemy sword, a broken arm and 2nd degree burns over the same arm/side/leg, or broken ribs and many wounds throughout that resemble deep scorched rips and gouges? All of this is assuming no available anesthetic or sedative.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I've walked a mile to the A and E on a broken ankle - that was distinctly unpleasant. But it's okay if you put your foot up. Busted a few ribs - but that's not so bad because you can control the pain by breathing shallowly. Passed a kidney stone or three which I'd very much rather not do again. And the thing that stands out in my mind most was the root canal!!!

But pain is different for everyone. What makes it easier to bear is being able to ease it, say by putting your broken leg up. Knowing that it will end and you'll be okay. And especially for women giving birth, the knowledge that it was always going to happen and they'd get through it. The pain that distresses most is the stuff that you think is serious, incurable, and you weren't expecting.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Velka]

Neuropathic pain (pain caused by nerve damage as opposed to tissue damage) is generally thought to cause the most pain.

I would guess 2nd, and perhaps some 3rd degree burns would be the most painful. 2nd degree more so, because with severe 3rd degree burns there is often so much nerve damage that you just don't feel the pain.

 

[Butterfly]

The worst pain I have ever felt was having an ingrown toenail cut out by the doctor. It was a little infected, so the two anaesthetic injections I had didn't take very well. Imagine someone smashing your big toe with a hammer several times and it will not even be close. My mind actually split itself in two that day. One side became the panicker wanting to scream and cry and curl up in a dark hole (strangely my mum's voice), and the other side (my dad's voice) was the one that kept saying to hang in there, it will all be over soon, stay calm, don't strangle the doctor.

Then there was the throbbing pain that came afterwards and left me wanting to find somewhere warm and sunny where I could just curl up and die. Then far too slowly... the paracetemol and ibuprofen started working. Everything didn't seem so bad after that.

 

[NerdyCavegirl]

Yeah this feedback is definitely necessary. xD I experience most pain in a very detached manner, thinks like broken bones and cutting out ingrown nails hurt like a bitch if I let it, but I can also choose to easily ignore it and just get on with whatever I'm doing. I get hurt a lot because it takes a second to feel it. Dx Not the best perspective to write injury scenes from, so I have to go by what other people find painful.

 

[MineOwnKing]

My L4 nerve root was completely pinched off inside my spine, took massive doses of dilauded to stop me from crying like a baby.

Worst pain ever, ever, ever!

2 back surgeries in the same day! Nightmare!

 

[Malik]

I'm a soldier by trade and an amateur boxer, so I'm also very good at ignoring pain. I view it sort of like seeing the CHECK ENGINE light come on.

That said, last spring I had a dislocated shoulder set with no anesthesia on a training exercise. I'd rather be shot through the skull than have to do that again. Having it dislocated was a broken-bone pain: that black, cold, hollow pain that nags and pisses you off, coupled with a sense of claustrophobia from back in the old lizard-brain when you can't lift your arm. Painful but I walked around like that for a couple of hours convinced that I just had a cramp and it would get better on its own.

The actual putting-back-in-place, once it had swollen up and started to turn purple? Holy shit. When the bone started to move the pain shot so far off the meter that it didn't even qualify as pain anymore; it was on a whole other level of perception, like a color or a smell. The medic says I passed out so I may have dreamt it but I haven't ruled out that I have some type of synesthesia for physical pain. Anyway, I threw up all the way to the hospital. I honestly thought I was going to die -- like, seriously, call my wife and tell her I love her -- before I ever got there, and that's not the kind of thought that crosses my mind, ever. It was pretty bad.

 

[Russ]

Based on decades of being a personal injury lawyer I believe Velka is correct. Neuropathic pain (which can come from physical injuries resulting in RSD or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) or burns are the worst.

 

[skip.knox]

I can't claim anything spectacular, but I did manage to get cut deep enough to require medical attention. What struck me is that, long after the fact, bringing a blade near the old injury can trigger memory and even a kind of pseudo-sensation. Queasiness.

It made me think of all my warrior characters who sustained injuries. I fully intend to have a character somewhere carry with him not only the physical scar of a wound, but also that queasiness. Maybe just a half-second's hesitation in a knife fight, or extra anxiety at the point of a charge. Just something to make the injury more than the literary equivalent of a loss of hit points.

 

[NerdyCavegirl]

See all this is honestly new to me. Dx I just have to reiterate how much I'm surprised by how painful things are to most people. Been cut deep enough to "require" stitches (I believe they're very overused; everyone always tries to make me go to the hospital, but it just causes more damage unless there's a risk of shock) and I can't even say with a straight face that it hurts. Got stabbed in the forehead with a butcher knife, one of those things people tried to make me go to the hospital, just bandaged it up and it only slightly stung when I laughed at everyone for freaking out. xD Broke my dominant hand last summer, that one did hurt, but I felt no need for any pain-reducing measures. Just this dull ache I could easily ignore and an annoying sense of pressure. Boyfriend set the bone, the release of pressure felt great because that was the only problem, went about my daily activities so no one would know I broke my hand, and tried to keep it in a splint when I was alone. Healed up fine.

 

[NerdyCavegirl]

Also dislocated my shoulder, that one was slightly worse. Same annoying sense of pressure, a bit sharper, felt less like something was out of place and more like something was jammed in the wrong place. Dx Boyfriend fixed that too, was enough for me to yelp "ow mother****er!", throw a few more curses out there, and just kinda chill there for a few minutes catching my breath. Was bruised as all hell like my hand was and pretty sore for a while, but that healed up fine too. Also have a bad habit of taking 120 degree showers or snuggling with 170 degree heating pads, both of which apparently cause 1st degree burns, which I don't consider an injury for me because that warm sting is kinda pleasant. Also have a bad habit of trying to grab shit out of the oven without a mit. This isn't to brag about my pain tolerance or insult anyone for feeling pain, just to make that clear. xD No pain does not mean no harm, and I get injured a lot and might not notice for hours.

 

[NerdyCavegirl]

This is in 3 posts and has no paragraph spacing because I'm on a cheap old flip phone, by the way. But no, I'm not trying to brag or insult or anything, I just feel the need to make it clear that I have no understanding of how most people feel pain. Dx Most things people go to the ER for are things I deal with at home with my own medicines, have to hide from my mother which is ridiculous because I'm an adult and have much more experience treating injuries than she does, just go about my day with because I have no other option, and always heal just fine and usually quicker than expected. The human body when properly cleansed and fueled is a miracle of engineering. But it's difficult to write realistic characters from my perspective, as most people feel pain. xD I can write fear, that's something I struggle with every day, but I need all of this input to write pain. So thank you all.

 

[Russ]

I am not your mother but...I also have a ridiculous pain tolerance and self treated many injuries over years of playing sports.

I am regretting it now I am past 50. Dislocations and fractures etc should get proper care. Trust me on that one.

 

[SeverinR]

This is all personal opinion of course, I'd rather get stabbed than have a headache any day, so what injury do you think would be the most unpleasant? Your arm being ripped out of socket by a giant squid, a ruptured spleen and the subsequent operation to repair it, having one twin prematurely in battle then getting the other one cut out by an enemy sword, a broken arm and 2nd degree burns over the same arm/side/leg, or broken ribs and many wounds throughout that resemble deep scorched rips and gouges? All of this is assuming no available anesthetic or sedative.

I doubt there is much worse pain then having the arm ripped off, if just dislocated it could be painful but there would be worse pain.
Ruptured spleen, the initial pain of rupture is severe.(My appendix ruptured, I practiced baseball fifteen minutes later(walked to practice) the blood pooling could cause pain, more likely probably pass out from blood loss. Operating without anesthetic probably would kill the patient since the Dr. would be working around organs and the patient could not lie still from pain.
Traditionally, giving birth takes precedence over all other actions, ie fighting probably wouldn't be possible during active labor.
Having the 2nd baby cut out, would be extremely painful.
Broken arm and severe burns; the burn would be painful, the break would be painful, more then likely it would be one giant pain in the arm. The nerves can only relay so much pain.

Broken or bruised ribs hurt to breathe.
Multiple scorches and gouges would be high risk for infection and would be painful.
The mind tends to focus on the most severe of pains, so the smaller pains are ignored. That is why an EMT does a complete check of the injured, not just focus on the compound fracture that is obviously painful. A quiet bleeder could end the persons life if they focused on the obvious.

 

[Russ]

The body also gets quite confused with certain types of pain due to the way your nerve system functions.

For instance kidney stones or diverticulitis cause great pain from little or no structural damage.

 

[NerdyCavegirl]

I am not your mother but...I also have a ridiculous pain tolerance and self treated many injuries over years of playing sports.

I am regretting it now I am past 50. Dislocations and fractures etc should get proper care. Trust me on that one.

When you say "proper", I read "conventional", and I don't do conventional medicine. I'd rather take my chances with my own skills, having studied anatomy, surgical practices, and both herbal medicine and manmade drugs for over 10 years, rather than someone I do not personally know, who was spoonfed drug dogma in medical school, and has initiative to damage my body even more for financial gain. But that's neither here nor there, I don't wish for debate. xD It's ridiculous how many entire forums have turned against me just because everyone gets butthurt when I say I don't like doctors.

 

[SeverinR]

I am not your mother but...I also have a ridiculous pain tolerance and self treated many injuries over years of playing sports.

I am regretting it now I am past 50. Dislocations and fractures etc should get proper care. Trust me on that one.

lol.
Proper healthcare...
I survived:
Ruptured appendix when I was 12, discovered the damage when I had Gall bladder surgery when I was 30.(I did Baseball practice after it ruptured)
Broke 2nd cervical vertebra during a pool party when I was 13 or 14, discovered by a Chiropractor's x-rays when I was 28(?)
(2nd vertebra is the hangman's, it's the one that kills someone being hanged.)

If you have severe pain, even if it doesn't come back or stop you from functioning, get it checked.

 

[SotaMursu]

I've broken my arm twice without even realizing it was broken until after about a week of "damn my hand hurts when i'm doing things" and my mom told me if it'd be broken it'd hurt so much i couldn't use my arm. I once broke my wrist too without noticing any big pain.
I've had a few of my teeth removed, one without anaesthesia, when i was 6.
Once i was blind for a month when i dove to the bottom of a lake and had my eyes filled with sand. It took around 2 hours for the doctor to remove all of the sand from my eyes. The sand grinding my eyes every time i moved them and the doctor having my eyelids rolled up out of the way for removing sand one grain at a time is something Ill probably remember forever.

I think pain is mainly mental, when you know it's supposed to hurt, it hurts more. You'll also get used to pain when you feel a lot of it often, and it also depends on the person.

 

[Russ]

When you say "proper", I read "conventional", and I don't do conventional medicine. I'd rather take my chances with my own skills, having studied anatomy, surgical practices, and both herbal medicine and manmade drugs for over 10 years, rather than someone I do not personally know, who was spoonfed drug dogma in medical school, and has initiative to damage my body even more for financial gain. But that's neither here nor there, I don't wish for debate. xD It's ridiculous how many entire forums have turned against me just because everyone gets butthurt when I say I don't like doctors.

Whether or not you don't like doctors is irrelevant to the question.

The simple fact is that you cannot properly deal with fractures and dislocations without proper imaging equipment.

While there may be some controversy around drug use etc there is virtually none on the setting of fractures for proper union and proper reduction and placement of dislocations.

 

[Russ]

lol.
Proper healthcare...
I survived:
Ruptured appendix when I was 12, discovered the damage when I had Gall bladder surgery when I was 30.(I did Baseball practice after it ruptured)
Broke 2nd cervical vertebra during a pool party when I was 13 or 14, discovered by a Chiropractor's x-rays when I was 28(?)
(2nd vertebra is the hangman's, it's the one that kills someone being hanged.)

If you have severe pain, even if it doesn't come back or stop you from functioning, get it checked.

Out of curiousity what was the treatment for your C2 fracture when it was discovered?