Tickling looks like a game that children would enjoy and is good for them but can lead to a few dangerous health issues
While people casually indulge in tickling children, making them laugh, the act is rarely questioned. However, according to experts, it deserves to be thought about more carefully, as it’s a form of play that can, despite good intentions, hurt a child.
While on the surface, tickling looks like a game that children would enjoy and is good for them but can lead to a few dangerous health issues.
What happens when you tickle someone?
According to experts, being tickled stimulates activity in a small area of your brain known as the hypothalamus, which directly sits above the brainstem at the base of your brain. Even though it is only around the size of an almond, your hypothalamus has a big role to play as it takes care of your emotions and your body’s reaction to danger and stressful situations—also known as the fight-or-flight response.
Doctors say your hypothalamus goes on high alert when it thinks you are in danger or facing some sort of threat, which explains why tickling tender places tends to trigger the strongest reactions.
Why can tickling be dangerous?
According to experts, tickling can be dangerous with:
Physiological Reactions:
Hypoxia
Extreme tickling causes a person to hold their breath or hyperventilate, leading to a lack of oxygen.
Cataplexy
Intense tickling can cause and trigger cataplexy, a sudden, temporary loss of muscle control or paralysis.
Panic Attacks
Some people also experience panic attacks or extreme discomfort when being tickled, especially if they have a low tolerance for the sensation.
Vomiting, urinary incontinence, and loss of consciousness
Abusive tickling has been reported to provoke extreme physiological reactions, including vomiting, urinary incontinence, and even loss of consciousness due to the inability to breathe.
Can trigger trauma
Tickling kids can lead to traumatic memories in children who have experienced abuse or assault. Tickling baby feet can simulate being held down, touched, or violated without consent, which can be highly triggering and traumatic for some children. Even if tickling baby feet is done with good intentions and no harm intended, it can still cause emotional distress and flashbacks.
Can cause tickle torture
Tickle torture highlights the potential for tickling to become a source of distress and even fear for children. According to experts, prolonged and deliberate use of tickling causes discomfort, humiliation, or to extract information, often used as a form of abuse or interrogation.
Even when tickling Doctors say even though it is not barbaric, many kids do not find it enjoyable due to how your nerves perceive the sensation of tickling. Scientists say tickling stimulates the nerves that signal pain, which, combined with triggering your fight-or-flight response, can make tickling downright uncomfortable. In some people, it leads to panic attacks.
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