Why does warming your hands hurt after they’ve been cold for awhile?
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Nerves send a painful signal when they get damaged or receive a strong stimulation.
When your hand gets hot enough, nerves will send a signal to warn you. But just as “too hot” is dangerous, “heating too fast” is also dangerous. Nerves then send a signal to warn you as well.
When your limbs get cold blood flow slows down and your nerves begin to suffocate from lack of oxygen. When the blood flow is restored those nerves become reoxygenated they send damage signals as they wake back up.
You also have special nerves that detect changes in temperate. You have two sets, each one activating when gaining or losing heat. Since your hands are colder than the source you’re warming them by they are going to absorb that heat very quickly. This activates your heat sensing nerve cells into sending very strong signals as your hands rapidly change temperature.
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