Congenital Analgesia - A Painless Pain

Few weeks ago, my cousin who is three years old named Jude exhibited a strange trait when his mother was using a razor blade to cut his long and dirty nails after she mistakingly cut his index finger and blood began rushing out like water from a pipe but to our outmost surprise, Jude felt no pain which informed our decision to quickly rush him to the hospital.

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On our way to the hospital, myself and his mum kept piercing him with sharp objects but the result was still the same, he felt no pain. I must confess that this really got us scared because we had never seen anything like this before.

Getting to the hospital, the doctor ran a series of tests. He pricked the baby very slightly at his heel with a needle, he showed no response. He ran a needle gently across his spine from an upward to downward direction, yet he showed no sign of pain. It was then the doctor made us realise the baby had congenital analgesia.

Congenital analgesia, which is also called congenital insensitivity to pain, is a rare genetic disorder characterized by an inability to feel physical pain.

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Two types of responses are usually manifested by children with this condition. The first one is an insensitivity to pain. This means that the painful stimulus can not be felt. The other one is indifference to pain. This means that the patient can feel the pain but can not give an appropriate response to the pain. They do not withdraw from the painful stimulus when exposed to it.

Congenital analgesia, itself, does not pose any harm but due to the fact that the ability to feel pain is very critical to human survival, but it is a very dangerous condition. People with congenital analgesia often die at childhood due to the inability to detect any pain that might be caused by illnesses or injury, mainly burn injuries.

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Signs and Symptoms

Children with congenital analgesia usually are at risk of contracting diseases because they do not feel pain and thus it is difficult to know when something is wrong with their body system. Children with this condition usually suffer from fracture of bones, teeth damage and are believed to always eat their own tongue. They may also experience damage to the cornea of their eyes and other infections which are difficult to notice.

Causes

Congenital analgesia may be caused by increased production of substances called endorphins. Endorphins belong to a class of chemical substances which block pain transmission. Patients with this condition usually have mutations in the various genes which are responsible for the control of the pain pathway.

This can be either decreased secretion of pain transmitter substances or increased secretion of substances that block pain transmission. The later is more common. Disabilities such as autism may include varying extents of insensitivity to pain as a sign. However, it may not be an indication of this condition.

Treatment

Congenital analgesia can be effectively treated by the administration of a drug called naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist. Naloxone works by reversing the depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system caused by opioids.

Small doses are usually given every few minutes until a desired effect is attained. There are usually side effects in children with a history of heart disease. It is also administered to pregnant women who have previously had a child with congenital analgesia.

Conclusion

With effective treatment and drugs, I'm happy to inform you that my little cousin is getting better by the day and we are seeing lots of improvements in him. Just yesterday, I wanted to pierce him with a needle, he quickly ran to his mum and telling her that I was going to cause him some pains. Myself and his mother laughed happily because that was the reply we wanted to hear from him.

To my esteemed readers that are reading this article right now, if you have a family member, friend or loved one at home and you have observed the person having this trait, I urge and implore you to please take the person to the hospital for treatment before it is too late.

Image Sources

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References

wikipedia.org
ghr.nlm.nih.gov