Pain threshold can vary from person to person, but there are some medical conditions suffered by humans that are so painfully excruciating that they can bring even the toughest to their knees. We are not talking about a bruised elbow or a stubbed toe. Instead, these are serious health-related issues that induce acute pain and distress, with some potentially fatal in their diagnosis.
So, just how unbearable is the unbearable? Click through and examine this list of painful disorders.
One of the most common ailments we can experience, a throbbing toothache can be unbearably painful. And if not treated promptly, toothache can migrate to your jaw or even the side of your face.
Kidney stones are hard deposits made of minerals and salts that form inside your kidneys. Relatively painless when static, a kidney stone on the move can cause severe pain as it passes down in the ureter to be expelled.
One stage further, renal colic can also be acutely painful. It occurs when a kidney stone or other crystalized substance gets stuck in the urinary tract. Many people describe it as the worst pain they've ever felt in their life.
Anyone who's suffered a slipped disc will know how intensely painful this condition is. A slipped disc is when a soft cushion of tissue between the bones in your spine pushes out. This in turn irritates nerves, resulting in pain and numbness in an arm or leg and, notably, the lower back.
A heart attack or myocardial infarction is a potentially fatal condition in which a part of the heart loses its blood supply. A mild attack manifests itself as a sensation of uncomfortable pressure, a feeling of squeezing or fullness of the chest. An acute episode brings with it a crushing chest pain usually coupled with overwhelming nausea. In either case, immediate medical attention is critical.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful, itchy, and unsightly rash on the body. Though not dangerous to healthy individuals, shingles can cause great misery during an attack.
Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the womb. The condition can also affect the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and the tissue lining the pelvis. The result is severe and disabling pain.
While bringing a newborn into this world is one of life's great wonders, unfortunately it's also one of the most uncomfortable experiences a woman can endure. The pain of labor and delivery has variously been described as a burning, stabbing, stretching, tearing, and cramping sensation, not to mention the intense pressure felt on the groin area.
Peripheral neuropathy develops when nerves in the body's extremities, such as the hands, feet, and arms, are damaged. This malfunction, commonly caused by diabetes, also affects signaling between hands and feet. The resulting pain, numbness, and tingling can be very distressing.
Widespread, seemingly never-ending musculoskeletal pain is the result of fibromyalgia. While the causes of fibromyalgia are not yet fully understood, the condition also brings with it fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues.
Sudden severe facial pain can be indicative of trigeminal neuralgia, a medical condition that's been described as akin to experiencing an electric shock in the jaw, teeth, or gums. In most cases, trigeminal neuralgia affects just one side of the face, with the pain usually felt in the lower part of the face.
Acute pancreatitis is a serious condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short period of time. Onset of pain is rapid, though its degree can range from mild to severe. Acute pancreatitis, however, usually leads to hospitalization.
Another way of describing an inflamed and overly sensitive bladder, interstitial cystitis induces a nasty burning sensation in the pelvic area and an incessant need to urinate.
Gout is a very painful form of inflammatory arthritis that occurs when urate crystals accumulate in your joints, very often the big toe. Flare-ups can last up to two weeks or so and be extremely debilitating.
Intracranial hypertension is a potentially serious medical condition brought on when the pressure of the fluid that surrounds the brain is too high. This in turn induces sudden and severe headache. If left untreated, intracranial hypertension can result in permanent visual issues or blindness.
Arthritis is one of the most common disorders to afflict us, a disease characterized by inflammation of one or more of the joints in the body. In fact, arthritis describes more than 100 conditions that affect the joints, tissues around the joints, and other connective tissues. Pain ranges from mild to disabling.
So painful are the effects of Dercum's disease that even taking a shower is an excruciating experience. The condition is characterized by multiple painful growths of fatty tissue, or lipomas, that cluster under the skin making affected areas extremely tender and painful to the touch.
Muscle pain can signify injury, infection, disease, or other health problem. Also known as myalgia, muscle ache and pain can be acute or chronic, depending on the cause.
This disorder is broadly underscored by uncontrolled behavior in the pain receptors, which usually occurs after a person has suffered traumatic nerve damage as a result from injury to an arm or leg. The affected limb is often extremely sensitive to touch, a sensation characterized by a burning, stabbing, stinging, or throbbing pain.
Best described as a truly dreadful headache, migraine is a common neurological disease that is often worsened by physical activity, bright lights, sounds, and smells. Episodes can last for several hours or even days.
Appendicitis refers to the inflammation of the appendix, a result of this tiny organ becoming sore, swollen, and diseased. Appendicitis is very painful and should always be regarded as a medical emergency: in severe cases, an inflamed appendix may rupture, leading to peritonitis.
An uncommon but agonizing type of headache, a cluster headache is known for its intensity, with pain directed at one side of the head and usually behind the eye. The experience can last up to three hours or so, with the pain so bad it can affect a person's ability to perform daily activities.
Peritonitis is an infection of the inner lining of the abdomen that causes acute redness and swelling of the peritoneum. First symptoms include a dull ache in the belly that quickly turns into persistent, severe abdominal pain.
A bout of sciatica can floor the fittest of people. The result of a compressed nerve in the lower spine, the condition refers to the pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve (the longest nerve in the body, which stretches from your hips to your feet).
Frozen shoulder is exactly that—stiffness in the shoulder that eventually results in the joint becoming very hard to move. The accompanying pain is a result of the inflammation associated with this disorder, which is also known as adhesive capsulitis.
By their very nature, gastric ulcers— open sores on the lining of your stomach or small intestine—are intensely painful and debilitating. Stomach pain is the most obvious symptom of an ulcer, discomfort that may occur briefly or last for hours.
Never underestimate the effect of emotional pain on the human condition. Emotional distress can induce physical as well as mental pain, the condition having a tendency to cause symptoms of pain throughout the body.
People with cancer experience a whole gamut of distressing sensations, from a mild, dull ache to immense, overwhelming pain. This can result from the disease itself, treatments like chemo, or a combination of the two. Bone, pancreatic, and brain cancers rank among the most painful. And any cancer at stage IV will demonstrate the highest degree of pain relative to the type of cancer.
Sources: (Healthline) (NHS) (National Institutes of Health) (Verywell Mind)
See also: Rare cancers that challenge the medical profession
What are the worst medical pains that humans can suffer?
Painful conditions that are almost unbearable
HEALTH Pain
Pain threshold can vary from person to person, but there are some medical conditions suffered by humans that are so painfully excruciating that they can bring even the toughest to their knees. We are not talking about a bruised elbow or a stubbed toe. Instead, these are serious health-related issues that induce acute pain and distress, with some potentially fatal in their diagnosis.
So, just how unbearable is the unbearable? Click through and examine this list of painful disorders.