Not being able to feel pain may initially sound like a good thing. Who wants to feel pain? The answer is nobody. But having the ability to feel pain is something that should not be taken lightly! Pain is a warning that something is wrong with our bodies, and that we need to pay attention to it. Not having that ability makes us vulnerable to things which we would otherwise be protected from. There are many "common" types of injuries which sufferers of pain insensitivity are affected by, such as:
~ Broken bones, sometimes only found during other investigations*
~ Scarring of eyes. Due to feeling no pain, babies and toddlers will stick their fingers in their eyes repeatedly - out of curiousity - in the same way they learn about every other part of their surroundings. This results in eye ulceration, scarring and has caused blindness in the severe cases.
~ Burns/scalds. Many sufferers can not sense temperature either, which puts them at a huge risk of burning themselves daily.
~ Oral injuries: mutilation of tongue, lips and inner cheeks. Severe ulceration and biting injuries are common in those who cannot feel pain. Many have part of their tongue missing, because they have bitten it off.
~ Joint degeneration from the normal "wear and tear" that our joints take, without the added protection of pain. Landing awkwardly, impacting a surface roughly, or even contacting another person during sporting activities can all cause major joint disruption. Add to that the fact that it is not felt painfully, and no appropriate "saving" actions are taken ... which would be the case in a known injury. The sufferer is usually unaware any such injury has occurred.
These are just some of the more common types of injuries sustained from not feeling pain; the list is extensive, and every single situation requires more thought and care (simply by taking the pain element away) than it would if there was normal pain involvement. Treatment of injuries is also much more complicated, because there are many things which have to be considered and monitored, when the natural pain response is missing. Pain leads and guides us more than you would ever imagine, and doctors rely on it as a means to diagnosis! Something that is not often thought about ... until it does not exist!
*because pain insensitivity is so rare - and sometimes unheard of - there have been cases where children have been found to have fractures ... and their parents have been suspected of abuse, and had their children taken from them. They are usually returned eventually, but both parent and child are severely traumatised in the process.