Re: Why... (OT)
- From: of mice and monkfish <fonkmish@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 01:57:48 -0700 (PDT)
On 1 Jul, 18:19, Mandy <mandy...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hiya everyone
Why does it hurt when you get salt in a cut?
Interesting question, Mandy!!!
I'm not 100% sure about this answer, but after thinking a little bit
about it in my brain, i'd say it's something to do with the effect of
sodium ions on nerve transmission.
What happens when a nerve impulse is fired is that, along the whole
length of the nerve, sodium ions are brought into the cell while
potassium ions are moved out. However, more sodium is bought in than
potassium is moved out, so the overall charge is changed, and hence an
electric current is generated. An electric current is nothing more
than a flow of electrically charged particles - sodium ions, for
example.
When salt enters a wound, the surrounding cells - including the nerve
cells - mop up the sodium ions. The effect this has on the nerve
cells is to artificially exaggerate the strength of the nerve impulses
- and with it, the sensitivity of the nerves to pain.
One quickly becomes habituated to the constant stream of nervous data
from a cut (it only hurts to begin with yet it takes a couple of days
for the cut to heal). When you get salt in it, however, the strength
of the pain signals coming from the damaged nerves is increased enough
to remind you once more that they are damaged - so it feels like you
have cut your finger all over again. That's why it stings.
Incidentally, i imagine why this is why salt enhances the flavour of
food - the extra sodium ions increase the sensitivity of the taste
buds, and so boosts the taste data obtained from food. In exactly the
same way that it makes cuts hurtier, salt makes food tastier. But if
you put on too much salt, then the chloride ions that make up the
other half of the salt come to dominate instead, and the food tastes
'salty' (think of how chlorine makes water taste at the swimming pool
- not nice).
That is really poorly explained, and it may not even be entirely
accurate, and for that i apologise, but it's the best i can do at this
time of the morning.
These wikipedia links might help - although if you look up 'salt' in
wikipedia, you'd probably get a much better exaplanation than mine,
but it's only just occurred to me that i should've just given you a
link to that, lol! But i wanted to work it out for myself. And i
have done.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaKATPase
the plankton of the opera
--
Stay Safe,
Mandy
Money talks, chocolate sings
.
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