# My thumb has been "asleep" for over 24 hours now... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 26, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870 "2002-04-26T23:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/1 "2002-04-26T23:23:15Z")
I was using a pair of scissors yesterday and during that, half of my thumb fell asleep. Or so I thought. It went numb, but without the tingles that usually accompany “falling asleep”… it isn’t totally numb, I have a little bit of sensation… sort of like your cheeks when the novocaine is just starting to wear off. But it’s now over 24 hours later and my thumb is still numb. I am seeing the doctor on Monday, but in the meantime it’s freaking me out. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/2 "2002-04-27T00:41:54Z")
I don’t blame you for being freaked out, **OpalCat**. Please do let us know what happens with the doctor on Monday. Have you thought of getting another pair of scissors that won’t cut off your sensation like that? ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/3 "2002-04-27T01:21:56Z")
Just the thumb? Pinched nerve, maybe? IANAD, but I’d try holding it as straight as you can, and apply either hot or cold (depending on which one makes it feel better). -lv ---
**Author:** ![Clever\_Hans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Clever\_Hans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clever_Hans)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/4 "2002-04-27T01:26:41Z")
Don’t feel to bad, I have had the same problem with my thumb since the Tuesday before last, it came upon me while practicing bowling for a hospice tournament/fund raiser. I’ve had that “asleep” sensation for a week and three days and counting. My thumb is still attached and otherwise normal. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/5 "2002-04-27T01:58:19Z")
I was demonstrating my machoness one time by snapping a plastic six-pack ring that had been folded into one circle. Half of my ring finger was asleep for about six months. Dumb stunt. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/6 "2002-04-27T06:38:20Z")
Ha! I can top all of you! Once, I had a condom that was a bit too tight… After six weeks, I thought ritual suicide was the only answer. Thank god it finally got the feeling back, though every now and again I still get a twinge. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/7 "2002-04-27T06:49:15Z")
Hmmm… **OpalCat** , you were using scissors, and then lost all sensation in your thumb… The thumb _is_ still there, right? I’m pretty sure you’d notice if you’d cut your own thumb off… Obviously and as usual, I have nothing useful to add…pinched nerve seems likeliest, but IANAD. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/8 "2002-06-21T09:53:13Z")
MOST of the feeling has returned to my thumb! It still feels a little less sensitive than the other thumb, but over the last couple of weeks it’s really regained a lot of sensation. Hooray! ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/9 "2002-06-21T15:14:54Z")
I had a sleeping thumb from cutting TONS of paper to make paper. I was numb for months. I was a little freaked out, but I never went to the doctor, and it eventually came back. I was still able to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-thumb-has-been-asleep-for-over-24-hours-now/105870/10 "2002-06-21T16:17:47Z")
It does sound like a nerve problem. When I was about 13 I sliced up my left index finger with an Xacto knife and damaged the nerve in there. The right side of the second knuckle has been numb ever since.