Why do paper cuts hurt more than knife cuts?

If you accidentally cut your hand with paper, even if the scratch is small, it will cause terrible pain and take a long time to heal.

Paper may seem light, flimsy and harmless, but it can actually cause extremely painful cuts - which can last for days.

We have nerve endings all over our bodies, but they're especially dense in our lips and fingertips, where movement and sensation are more subtle, says Dr. Hayley Goldbach, a dermatologist at UCLA Health.

These nerve endings are called pain receptors. They send signals to the brain about things that can cause pain, such as temperature, extreme heat or cold.

If you cut your hand, the wound is constantly open because you use your hands all day long. Therefore, the cut will hurt a lot.

Paper cuts are even more painful because the edges of the paper are actually very jagged and sharp when viewed under a microscope, not smooth and flat as they appear.

In addition, paper cuts are prone to inflammation because paper is made from wood pulp, cotton and other fibers, which can penetrate the wound. Therefore, if you get a paper cut, you need to wash the wound with clean water and soap, then use a bandage on the cut to help keep the wound clean and prevent bleeding again.

The paper cut is deep enough to reach the cell-killing agents but too shallow to trigger the clotting mechanism to stop bleeding and form a scab to protect the wound. Therefore, it takes a long time for new skin to replace the dead cells.

There are mental and emotional factors, such as the surprise of the cut, that make paper cuts hurt more than other cuts, Dr. Goldbach adds.

All of these reasons make paper cuts really painful.