Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA) is an extremely rare condition. Congenital insensitivity to pain is a condition in which a person cannot feel pain. The ability to sense touch, vibrations, and heat are not affected but the ability of the brain to recognize pain is missing. Anhidrosis is a problem often linked to congenital insensitivity to pain. This condition prevents the person’s ability to sweat and maintain body temperature. Only about 35 people in the United States have this disease and most people who have it won’t live past age 25.

At first this might seem like a good thing but it is not. Two young girls, Ashlyn Blocker and Gabby Gingras, have run into countless problems caused by this condition. At age 2 Gabby Gingras had to have her teeth removed because she was biting her fingers until they were bleeding. She also broke her jaw and her parents were not aware of it until an infection from it caused a fever that sent her to the hospital. She had her left eye removed at age 4 and her right eye is badly damaged due to her rubbing and poking her eyes repeatedly. Ashlyn Blocker severely burnt her hand when she was young but didn’t cry or feel the injury. She can’t play outside if it’s too hot because her body will overheat due to her inability to sweat and maintain body temperature.

These girls along with their families have to be careful and watch out for dangers that the girls won’t recognize because they can’t feel when something is wrong or causing pain. Pain may be uncomfortable and unwanted but it is our body’s way of telling us when to stop doing something damaging and teaching us what to stay away from. Without these lessons, the world can be an extremely dangerous place. Keeping these girls from danger and harm can be a lot of work. However, Gabby’s parents said that, even if she ends up completely blind or in a wheelchair, they will always love her and protect her.

Sources:

ABCNews.com (2005, December 9). The girl who can’t feel pain. ABC News. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1386322#.Ts0sj2PyGW5

Gainesville.com (2010, August 6). Congenital insensitivity to pain. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://video.gainesville.com/video/441679854001

Oppenheim, K. (2006). Life full of danger for a little girl who can’t feel pain. CNN. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://articles.cnn.com/2006-02-03/health/btsc.oppenheim_1_prosthetic-eye-pain-small-bites?_s=PM:HEALTH

Sniezek, S. (2008). Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. Retrieved 11/16/2011 from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1736

-by Kimberly Kolaga