As unpleasant as it is, pain serves a very important purpose: it warns you that something is wrong or that you need to withdraw from what is hurting you. Acute pain resolves quickly, generally when yo As unpleasant as it is, pain serves a very important purpose: it warns you that something is wrong or that you need to withdraw from what is hurting you. Acute pain resolves quickly, generally when you remove your body part from damaging stimuli. Chronic pain may last for years and greatly affect quality of life. Whether a pain is chronic or acute, there may be ways to get rid of it, or to at least manage it. It is estimated that $50 billion dollars a year is made on a global scale each year just on pain management medication. Some pains are so severe that withdrawing from the source of pain or treating it with medication won't rid you of it. Other times, the pain comes from within one's own body making it impossible to withdraw from. There are several different types of pain, and in advanced countries like the United States and Canada, pain is the most common reason for doctors visits. Most of us will experience different types of pain throughout our lives. However, there is a selection of pain sources that are more extreme than any others, and are often described as "unbearable." Sometimes, the person experiencing this pain never recovers from it. The pain may be so severe their body goes into shock, or completely shuts down. Some people live to talk about these horrific pains, and those who hear their stories can only hope they never have to experience it themselves. Here are 15 of the worst pains a human can ever feel. 15 BULLET ANT STING The video above shows you how much pain the Paraponera clavataca, more commonly known as the bullet ant, can cause. The gutsy guy in the video is Hamish Blake, who voluntarily placed his hands in gloves that were filled with bullet ants - usually stinging the glove wearer over 100 times in just seconds. He knew it would sting but as this is part of a Brazilian tribal initiation, he thought ' how bad can it really be?' 14 TORN ACHILLES 13 ANIMAL ATTACK INJURIES 12 CHILD BIRTH 11 KIDNEY STONES 10 CLUSTER HEADACHES 9 SECOND DEGREE BURNS 8 TETANUS 7 STONEFISH STING 6 TOOTH ABSCESS 5 PERITONITIS 4 GONADAL TORSION 3 PENILE FRACTURE 2 DERCUM'S DISEASE 1 TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA It is commonly described as feeling like lightning is hitting your face, but trigeminal neuralgia, which can be felt almost anywhere on a person's head, really originates from the trigeminal nerve's function being disrupted. It is more common in females than men, and it is estimated that at least 1 in 20,000 people experience it. There is no cure for trigeminal neuralgia, however it can often be managed with therapy and medication. Episodes can last from just a few seconds to several hours, and in particularly nasty cases, something as light as a gush of air can set it off.
