Polar Bear Medical Blog

Congenital insensitivity to pain is quite an interesting medical condition. There are very few cases of this type of condition, about 100 documented in the United States. The condition involves the inability to feel pain.

Congenital insensitivity to pain is caused by a genetic mutation that affects the reception and transmission of pain stimulus. What is very interesting is that people with this condition still have their sense of touch. They can feel when people are touching them, and can feel different temperatures (although in some cases the person is unable to detect temperature). Only when an action that would cause pain occurs does the person have a defect in their sense of touch.

Unfortunately, due to many problems that can arise from this condition, many who have it die young. The death of those with this condition is not directly cause by it, but is a result what the condition does. Because these people do not feel pain, many cuts and other injuries can go untreated, leading to infection. Sometimes, too much the body will experience too much trauma without the person’s knowledge and death will follow. Many children with this condition have to have constant supervision, to prevent as many injuries as possible.

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