Oblivious to Pain? What's up with my Grandson?
 

A little background on my grandson, Chad. He is 9 yo and was born with Gastroschisis. Because it took a couple of weeks to get all his intestines back inside the hole in his abdomen when he was born, he was on lots of pain meds for the first few weeks of his life. My daughter was finally able to bring him home when he was 10 weeks.

He is bright and normal in every way, except he doesn't have a belly button (due to the surgery).

I almost posted on this phenomenon a few weeks ago when he accidentally got burned while we were making cookies and didn't complain.

Now his mother tells me that his bare leg touched the hot exhaust pipe when he was getting off their motorscooter and HE DIDN'T SAY A WORD! Later that night, after he showered and got ready for bed, he showed his parents that he had removed the burnt skin from the wound. (Cringing as I type this!)

The burn is on the inside of his leg, just above the ankle. His mother says its the size you get when you put your thumb and forefinger together and make a circle (she has long fingers, too!)

So my DD put Neosporin and gauze on it for the night, then let it "air out" a couple of days. Now it's looking pretty gross and she's considering taking him to the Dr. tomorrow, as more than one layer of skin is involved.

What do you make of this? I know Chad can feel pain because I've seen him cry after getting injured when he was younger. This is not a display of bravado. He just shrugs off pain, but how and why? :confused:

Twink I am not sure if this will help but debs youngest and my oldest both have forms of autism but both were were extreme ADHD and a extremely high tolerance to pain, and a tolerance to pain does coincide with ADHD, just a thought, not sure if it could be that or did the pain meds do something to his pain receptors?

I am clueless with this other than he needs to be seen by his doctor immediately for the burn. It sounds like a 2nd or third degree burn.

At that time, I am sure the doctor will want to address the idea that he did not scream bloody murder at the time.

I was so taken by Chad when I met him. He may not feel pain but he sure does have a sweet tooth!

But tell DD to get him to a Dr. ASAP in the morning.

Thanks, Frank. I wasn't aware there was a connection between ADHD and high pain tolerance. Chad is pretty restless at school, but hasn't been diagnosed thus far.

Thanks, Cyn. He's as sweet as his sweet tooth. :) Do you really think the doc will have anything to say about him not screaming "bloody murder"? I hadn't considered that a doctor would do anything but shrug off that info.

HI Twink,

There is a condition out there where people do not have the ability to feel pain and know when they are hurt. A doc should know about this.

:hug:

He can feel pain, but maybe not in the same way as the rest of us.

What do you think a doctor would want to do?

sometimes doctors are only as good as we patients allow them to be.

At least, that is how it should be in a perfect world.

I am pretty sure the burn needs attention from what you have said. DD should follow up with the high pain tolerance issue.

I would be yelping if it had been me.

Definitely would have DD have a talk with doc about the pain tolerance while the burn is being checked out.

It could be any number of reasons. Frank and Shelley already mentioned a couple.

It could be a focus thing. I know my tolerance for other pains increase if I have one constant pain that grabs my attention. Almost like my brain can only handle one major thing at a time. Drove my parents and docs bonkers. And sometimes now drives my hubby to distraction. :rolleyes:

Hope the little guy feels better soon. :hug:

no words of wisdom although my nephew is autistic and feels relatively
no pain....like frank I have heard it connected to add too.

Hugs to your sweet grandson. :hug:

Twinks:

You've probably looked this up on the internet already. There is a condition called CIPA. I believe it's one of the rarest conditions in the world.

People who can't feel pain.

Here's what comes up when you google it. Keep clicking on next and you'll get lots of info.

here you go!!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ain.html?cat=5

my thoughts....
 

I would ask this young man what he exactly feels.

Is he afraid to say anything, because he fears doctors (not an unusual reaction after that early experience.)

But I would wonder if he has a neuropathy resulting from all those surgeries?

I have the same genetic error, only grade II.
I did not need surgery.

But the drastic interventions and drugs/anesthetics may have resulted in a peripheral neuropathy.

This needs medical evaluation. No other answer.
If he is not absorbing B12 due to the congenital defect, or the repair, now is the time to fix it.

But I would ask and evaluate this child/young man and see if he feels things in the hands and feet. Any parent can do this.

Sometimes boys get very stoic. So that too needs to be clarified. If he ignores pain on purpose, he needs to be educated and perhaps have some therapy so he learns what normal responses are and that it is no problem to express them. Just my opinion.

so? what did the doctor say?

Thanks for your input, everyone. I hadn't realized this was something to be taken seriously and looked into by a physician. I just thought he was lucky!

No, I don't think he's stoic. And he hasn't lived in an abusive home, so he's not trying to be tough. His eyes flood with tears immediately if his feelings are hurt. :(

Aarcyn, he didn't go to the doctor. Instead he headed off to school on his bicycle, fell and scraped his knee, then continued onto school. *sigh

I've always thought it's amazing that kids survive their own childhood. Chad is no exception. mrsD, I will definitely do some interrogation when he comes for a visit during Thanksgiving.

Hiya Twink! I'll be keeping your grandson in my prayers, keep us posted!

A couple of times I've accidentally disturbed Chad's two wounds and that got his attention. He kindly reminded me not to touch there. He says the knee scrape hurts worse of the two.

The burn is healing okay and still looks really owie, but he says it doesn't really hurt.

I asked and he does not have numbness in hands or feet. What else should I ask him?

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but he's not a fast runner or particularly agile; however, he is quite strong in his upper body as compared to his cousin the same age.

Be sure to tell the doc, if he goes, that what he feels, if he felt pain before. Does he feel the scraped knees? A bee sting? A pinch, a slap? (I'm not saying to abuse him, lol)

I always used to have normal pain sensations till whatever happened to me happened. Now, I am not numb but yet have lost sensitivity to hot/cold in my hands due to syringomyelia. I burned my hands a lot of times and never felt it. I cut my fingers and my legs, never felt it.


Got stung by wasps on hand, barely feel that, but felt it on my arm.

And it feels like I'm being stung when I'm not.



If you kiddingly poke my ribs, I about pass out. I barely felt the EMG/NC.

See what kinds of pain/touch bother him, and if he noticed a time when any of that changed.

my numbness is always tested by a pin prick, with me looking away so I can't see what my neurologist is doing.

But it doesn't sound like you are describing numbness, more a lack of pain.

Surprisingly, numbness can develop without the person really noticing it as it happens gradually over time, so you sort of get used to it as it happens.

hth

raglet