> > I had an odd little growth thing removed from
> my toe, and while I didn't feel anything during
> the actual procedure, the anesthetic needle
> did hurt. It could have something to do with
> the fact that toes have a lot of nerve endings,
> or the fact that they stuck that needle in my toe
> five separate times, or whatever, but it was
> probably the most painful thing I've ever
> experienced. I don't mean to scare you,
> Calvin. It's probably pretty rare that this
> happens.
> >
> > (Does anyone know why it did? Do my
> theories sound reasonable?)
>
> Don't know why, but I know what you mean. I
> had to have an ingrown toenail dug out of my
> big toe when I was in college (only three
> weeks before graduation, no less! I was afraid
> I wouldn't be able to march!) and getting the
> local anesthetic hurt like the dickens. But it
> was far preferable to what it would have felt
> like if I'd let the doc dig the errant toenail out
> without it.
>
> Gri"grateful that his toenails are behaving
> themselves these days"shny

I've heard that it hurts on the toe and the hand (Where I've had anaesthetics) because you are forcing liquid into a really small space, and the pressure buildup on the nerve hurts as if you've pranged it*.
Unlike alot of my medical knowledge, however, this is unsubstantiated, though it makes sense from a basic science point of view.

sam"You'll be right"hael
*pranging a nerve is where you hit it hard, with a needle, or maybe just a door frame. Like when you hit your 'funny bone': That's pranging your ulnar nerve.