Scientists have uncovered the most excruciating pain a human being can feel.
We all know pain, whether it’s stubbing your toe or biting into an ice-cold treat with sensitive teeth. But according to science, none of these even come close to the most excruciating pain a human can endure.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t come down to childbirth for women or a kick in the unmentionables for men…
For years, kidney stones were believed to be among the worst pains imaginable. Dr. Mike Nguyen, a urologist at USC Urology of Keck Medicine of USC, conducted a 2016 survey of 287 kidney stone patients, and it revealed that many rated it as the worst discomfort they had ever experienced.
However, a more recent study published in 2020 suggests something even worse – cluster headaches.
Researchers asked over 1,600 people who suffer from cluster headaches to compare the pain to other agonizing conditions like bone fractures, stab wounds, and migraines.
The results showed that cluster headaches took the top spot, with participants rating the pain a staggering 9.7 out of 10 on the pain scale.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, cluster headaches are “pain on one side of your head” that occur in frequent, intense episodes known as clusters.
It usually follows a pattern, often showing up at the same time each day, and can last for weeks or even months.
The symptoms include a sharp, intense pain behind one eye that spreads to the face, head, and neck, pain concentrated on one side of the head, restlessness, a runny or stuffy nose that hurts, and skin color changes on the affected side of the face, per Mayo Clinic.
The study ranked other intensely painful conditions, with childbirth taking second place at 7.2/10, followed by pancreatitis in third with a score of 7. Kidney stones landed in fourth place with 6.9/10.
Several other conditions scored above 5 on the pain scale, including gunshot wounds, gallstones, slipped spinal discs, migraine attacks, fibromyalgia, and bone fractures.
Surprisingly, heart attacks only scored a 5/10 despite being one of the most life-threatening conditions on the list. Per the CDC, 805,000 Americans suffer a heart attack every year, making heart disease one of the leading causes of death in the US.
While cluster headaches are classified as one of the most painful conditions, they are not life-threatening. But they are incredibly rare, affecting only 0.1% of the global population, according to Cleveland Clinic.
So, while you might want to complain the next time you stub your toe or hurt your sensitive teeth, remember – science says it could be a lot worse.
