How Does Severe Pain Cause Hallucinations?
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Aster (
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June 21st, 2010
My best friend had a toothache in the middle of the night. She called the dentist and begged him to meet her at the clinic but he refused, saying he’d see her in the morning. She told me she was hallucinating. How does this happen?
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8 Answers
Don’t know your friend….does she exaggerate often?
@Val123 no; she’s very low-keyed and doesn’t do that. I know from personal experience that a slight toothache can be pretty miserable.
I’ve never heard of pain causing hallucinations. Is she perhaps running a fever?
Hallucinating what?....the possibility of being seen by a dentist in the middle of the night?
I can see pain making you think crazy thoughts like that but this isn’t what I would call a hallucination. More a desperate delusion.
If she is talking about some other hallucinations then I think she may want to take a trip to the ER to make sure she doesn’t have a raging infection. The brain and mouth barrier isn’t all that impenetrable so infections in the mouth and sinus can migrate to the brain. Better safe than sorry.
The body, in pain, releases natural pain-killers (endorphins?). These are natural opioids and may be responsible for her hallucinations. I’m no medical expert, only making a semi-educated guess.
I have had some of the worst migraine headaches you could ever imagine. on a one to ten scale, most wear a 20. no hallucinations here. not to say it cannot happen. we all are different in our psychological makeup.
@stranger_in_a_strange_land I bet you’re right . Anyway, I used her toothache as an example. It was Many years ago that it happened to her.
yes this can happen with toothache
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