Sensitivity

[cjsmith]

I had an interesting moment of "What? You mean some people DON'T?" this weekend.

[Poll #1308075]

My answer to both of these is "Duh! Doesn't EVERYBODY?" (In the case of mosquitos, how else do you know to swat them?) These are not small sensations for me. They are obvious and can be startling. Last weekend I learned that there are people for whom this is not the case. I was pretty surprised.

At the vet clinic, it's obvious that some animals feel the needles while others do not. That also seems very strange to me.

Comments

[juverna.livejournal.com]

I have never in my life felt a mosquito bite me. (And I seem to be the only one on your list.) This seems very odd to me, because I think of myself as being very sensitive to sensations on my skin (I am very responsive to touch; my skin itches much of the time, which I think of partly as a phenomenon related to being aware of sensation on my skin more often than average; etc.)

I didn't even know that other people could feel mosquito bites until fairly recently (when I think I saw someone, in RL or on TV, swat a mosquito that was biting them without looking at it). It had never occurred to me that that was possible!

I ABSOLUTELY HATE having mosquito bites, so I am a little paranoid about being anywhere near the little buggers. I will swat them if they buzz near my ear (it can wake me up from a sound sleep in an instant -- and it's just about the only thing that can!) -- I slam myself on the side of the head, but I still usually miss. I've also gotten pretty good at recognizing what they look like when they're flying around the room or perched on a wall, and that helps. But not enough.

There are people who can't feel a phlebotomist's needle being inserted? Srsly?? I envy those people.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I envy anyone whose sensory apparatus is less sensitive than mine. I suppose vision hasn't given me any serious trouble, but if I could cut in half my senses of smell, hearing, and touch, I'd be eternally grateful. I wouldn't mind downgrading my ability to detect bitterness in taste, either. Life could be so much better!