Being Stabbed

Sounds fun, right? Well, actually, it kind of is. Read more to find out how.



Most people thankfully do not suffer from a stab wound at any point in their life. However, it's not as bad as it looks. While a common paper cut or other slice on the hands that mostly everyone will receive, a stab wound or laceration elsewhere is not something that is comparable to an average cut.

On Saturday I was stabbed in my home. Here's the twist: it was myself in the bedroom with the knife. The story is as follows: I was practicing with my throwing knives and one of them got hooked on my index finger as I let go. The knife held on to my finger until I rotated my arm at the end of the swing (I will write a post on how to throw knives for next week) at which point it dislodged and made a quarter turn and found its self in my lower thigh. After stopping the bleeding, I went to the local clinic, which was closed, so I went to the emergency room where I had it closed and bandaged. But how did it feel?

Being stabbed, especially right above the knee, is completely unlike anything else I have ever experienced. First, I felt a sharp prick that felt like a pin. Not too painful at all, just a quick little pain, easily endurable and fairly common feeling. The knife fell out of my knee, so I had assumed that it just barely pierced my jeans and pricked me. I saw a bit of blood and thought that it was just a bit from the prick, which happens once in a while. However, the blood did not stop and it just felt really warm, so I made the false assumption that it was warm from the blood and I had cut myself a bit worse than I originally thought. After inspecting the gratuitous amount of blood that was flowing from my knee, I thought to myself "huh, that really does not hurt." Notice that I have only mentioned pain in the description one or two times, as it was really not painful at all. The knife went cleanly into my leg about a half inch and fell out. It was such a strange feeling, being stabbed. First there was a sharp but small prick then just warmth. As I am writing this on Monday, November 14th, I can not explain what it feels like as you are reading this as you are in the future. However, so far it has not been very painful at all. At most, it has been a sharp ache when I try to walk on it or put too much strain on it. Most of the time though, it is just a dull ache if that.

Long story short, being stabbed in the knee doesn't hurt nearly as much as laceration on the hands, for example. This is because there are not many nociceptors, the pain sensing nerves, on most of the human body and there are very few below the skin. Most of these nerves are on the hands, as the hands are used most often to feel for things that are potentially harmful.

Have any of you ever had a stab wound or other puncture would? Tell me about it in the comments below. Stay tuned in for more science and technology news.