Does the sense of cold have priority over pain?

If i’m feeling unwell (as I am now, with a stomach ache :() I often open all the windows, since if i’m feeling cold it seems to lessen the pain. Is the sense of coldness (or just temperature in general) given higher “priority” by the body, so that one overrides the other?

I don’t know, but it seems when I am cold, esp. my hands, it becomes painful to use them, like to use a tool - then again a bit colder and I just don’t feel the key, nor can use my hand that well.

I’ve been told about ‘pain gates’

  • where one pain cancels out another
  • the example I was given was gipsies branding someone when carrying out an operation

Cold is used as a local anaesthetic, they used to kill warts with a cotton bud dipped in liquid nitrogen - now they use a spray

  • you can get spray on anaesthetics, I suspect they work by evaporation.

When you get seriously cold, it only tends to hurt when you warm up.

In your case, today in London, I’m surprized if you could get cold by slinging open the windows, but I suspect that your effect works by increased oxygen and cooling speeding up your metabolism

  • both of which would make you feel better