Cut on paper: why does it hurt so much? Easily explained

Cutting yourself on paper - that hurts a lot. But why does a small wound that doesn't bleed often burn so much? We have the answer.

A small cut on paper - great pain

• We feel our environment with our hands and especially with our fingertips. So that we can feel every little thing - a grain of sand or a hair - with it, nature made the fingertips particularly sensitive.
• Numerous nerves run here, which are equipped with so-called nociceptors. These receptors are very sensitive to pressure and temperature, but also to pain. This is a protective mechanism for the body: if something hurts, we automatically pull our hand back.
• Cutting yourself on paper feels different than cutting yourself with a knife, for example. On the one hand, this is due to the depth of the incision: Use paper to cut through the top layers of skin and get to where the nerve fibers lie. However, do not cut so deep that it would bleed - with a knife, yes.
• If the cut bleeds, blood clots and closes the wound in a natural way. Since no blood flows when cut with paper, the wound remains open and air can get into it - our brain interprets this as a constant threat to our so important hands and reacts with pain signals.