this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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Some people have rings that are so tightly stuck that even soap does not help, but dental floss works for them. Meanwhile, others find dental floss painful even with a mildly stuck ring, yet soap works well for very tight rings. Why is some skin more sensitive to dental floss? And what makes some people’s skin respond better to either soap or dental floss?

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[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 7 points 1 day ago

I would suggest the data you have is not reliable enough for this comparison. For starters, not all dental floss is the same. Secondly skill and technique may vary.

[–] Apytele@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Soap is decreasing friction. The dental floss done correctly should apply compression to the tissue and force fluid out of the area. This is especially helpful if a lot of tugging has resulted in swelling.

[–] DayOk2@lemmy.world -2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Okay, why does soap work better for some people, and dental floss works better for other people? What makes the fingers in people different? Are there also gender differences in skin type?

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

There is a difference because you have anecdotes, not data. You can't draw conclusions from them. The entire "experiment" could be poisoned by a single person with joint disease. It could be poisoned by a single person lying about the severity of the pain etc.

[–] Aremel@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The overarching answer is "people are different". But I suspect you want a more granular answer than that.

Depending on various factors like age, sex, hydration status, disease process, etc., some people's skin is more elastic than others. People also have different pain tolerances. If you mix and match all of these factors, you'll get people reacting differently to the same stimuli.

[–] DayOk2@lemmy.world -2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is the dental floss method more likely to work on women because there is more fat in their fingers? And does having large knuckles also contribute to the pain caused by dental floss?

[–] dingus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

OP, are you downvoting yourself?

[–] DayOk2@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

No, I do not downvote myself. I only remove the automatic upvotes because I do not want to cast any votes.