Why can you still feel pressure when you’ve been numbed?

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Say you get an injection and the site has been anesthetized beforehand with a topical numbing cream, why is it that you can still feel the pressure? Is the pressure sensation not associated with nerves? If not, how does your brain detect pressure sensations?

P.S. I’m not sure if “numbed” is a word but I couldn’t think of another way to say it lol.

In: Biology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

>Is the pressure sensation not associated with nerves?

It is, but not the same nerves that carry pain signals. There are different nerves that do different things. The local anesthetic blocks the nerves that carry pain signals but not the nerves that carry the signals for pressure or mechanical stress, so you don’t feel pain, but you can still feel other sensations.

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