Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Why Do We Get Pins and Needles?
Source: BBC future
Author of the article: Jason G Goldman
Publication date: November 18, 2015
By: Charlotte McDonough


Almost everyone has experienced pins and needles at least once in their lives. But, most people don’t know what's going on when it happens. Quoted from the article itself, “The biology behind those pins and needles is actually quite straightforward.” Scientists have discovered that after having a limb under pressure for a period of time, the nerves get pinched and your blood vessels (that supply those nerves)  are under a lot of pressure. So, your brain stops getting information from those nerves like it expects. But, pins and needles are not only caused by one way. It;s very rare, but paresthesia, or pins and needles, can be triggered with anesthetic medications during dental work. It’s still not very clear why this happens though. but there are a couple possibilities. Such as, the needle used to deliver the anesthetic touched and/or damaged a nerve. But other than anesthetics, peppers can also bring pins and needles to your mouth! This is because the capsaicin found in most peppers. Paresthesia can be very annoying and irritating, but it doesn’t take much to get blood circulating back again!


I chose this article because I am very prone to getting pins and needles. I thought it would show some different ways of how to get rid of the feeling as well as tell what is going on in my skin. Though the article did not tell me how to get rid of the painful pins, it told me what I really just needed to know, the science behind it.
All in all, I think this article was very informational and interesting. My favorite new thing that I learned was the three stages of paresthesia; “Finally, after the pressure is released, comes the third stage: this is known as “release pricking”. That’s the part usually referred to as “pins and needles.” “  This quote taught me that there were more than just one part/stage of the painful “pricking”. I thought that there was only one painful 5 minutes that make up the whole pins and needles.
This article relates to what we are learning in class because in class we are studying cells and a lot of what is happening is being caused from our nerve cells. The majority of the article tells about the biology behind it, as well as other useful information on the causes to the feeling. This information can be very helpful to people because they can be very aware with what is going on inside of their body. We all get pins and needles, some more than others, and it’s totally normal. Now knowing what causes the feeling, you can now avoid the pain and hassle of pins and needles. But, I still have a few questions, some include; do some people experience pins and needles more than others? If yes, than why and how?

5 comments:

  1. I think that this is a super cool topic to research, because when your foot (example) goes numb, it's hard to say how it's gonna feel in 5 minutes, and your topic can show whats gonna happen, and why it happens.

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  2. This is really interesting! Pins and needles are really annoying...I never knew why I got them though. I am prone to getting pins and needles too!

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  3. You did a really good job! I found it very interesting to learn that peppers can bring can bring pins and needles to your mouth because because capsaisin can be found in some peppers. I love how you stated your information and facts with a quote too!

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  4. This is really interesting. I had no clue that the tingly feeling that I get made this nuch of a deal. I learnd so much. Great job.

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  5. You did a great job with this! I like how you expressed your own opinion and related it to your own life!

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