Your Fingertips Have A Ton Of Nerve Endings
Paper cuts on your fingers tend to hurt badly because the hands have a lot of nerve endings, which increase sensitivity. There are more nerve endings and pain receptors in the fingertips than almost anywhere else in the body. Additionally, the nerves are very close together; even a minuscule cut can cause a significant reaction. When you accidentally slice a finger, receptors light up and send pain signals to the brain.
Your Brain Thinks You’re Hurt Worse Than You Are
Due to the high amount of nerve endings in our digits, the brain can freak out about finger cuts.The brain realizes the importance of one’s hands and pays close attention to their sensory signals. An injured hand is likely to send a fast, intense response to the brain, not differentiating between a large wound and a small paper nick.
Plus, separate areas of the brain deal with different parts of the body. The section of the brain responsible for the fingers takes up more space than the areas devoted to the legs and torso combined.
We Expect The Cut To Hurt, So It Does
Thinking about your paper cut may exacerbate the pain. Humans aren’t conditioned to associate paper with harm, so the brain reacts poorly after a paper cut. Seeing the cut multiple times makes the pain seem more intense.
We also expect the small cuts to sting, and that focus makes the pain more real. Bandaging the wound keeps it out of sight, and can help with pain management.
Paper Cuts On Other Body Parts May Hurt More Than Ones On Your Hands
Other human body parts can be more sensitive than the fingers. In general, certain areas of the face and genitalia have just as many if not more nerve endings than the hands.
A fingertip has about 2,500 nerve endings per square centimeter. A man’s private area has around 4,000 or more; a woman’s main erogenous zone has around 8,000. Accordingly, a paper cut on one of those areas could be significantly more painful than one on the finger.
In Very Rare Cases, Paper Cuts Can Kill You
In rare instances, paper cuts can become fatal. Harmful bacteria and irritants may enter the open wound, poisoning to the bloodstream. In 2016, a New Jersey man almost died after contracting sepsis from a paper cut. Sepsis causes the body to attack itself, leading to organ damage and even death.
