Your Health In Mind with Michael Storm and Dr. Dean Lloyd, February 25, 2026 Hour 2

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Being Touched” .. Show for 2-25-26

“Being touched” primarily means feeling emotionally moved or affected by something, such as gratitude or sympathy. 

Alternatively, it can mean having come into physical contact with someone or something, or it may be used as an older, informal term for being slightly mentally unbalanced or eccentric (“touched in the head”).  Merriam-Webster Dictionary Merriam-Webster 

Emotional Significance: When someone says “I am touched,” they mean they are emotionally moved, grateful, or deeply affected by a gesture or kindness. Physical Contact: “Being touched” refers to the literal action of being contacted, grazed, or handled. Alternative/Older Definition: The term “touched” can describe someone who is considered slightly mad, eccentric, or unconventionalTouch anatomy involves a complex network of cutaneous low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMs) within the skin that detect, convert, and transmit tactile, thermal, and pain stimuli to the brain. These receptors include Meissner’s, Pacinian, and Merkel disks, which send signals via peripheral nerves to the spinal cord and on to the somatosensory cortex for interpretation.  National Institutes of Health 

Key Components of the Touch System: Skin Layers: Receptors are located in the epidermis (outermost), dermis (middle), and hypodermis (deepest). Touch Receptors (Mechanoreceptors): Meissner’s Corpuscles: Detect light touch, vibrations, and texture. Pacinian Corpuscles: Detect deep pressure and high-frequency vibration. 

Physical diseases transmitted by touch include:

Skin-to-skin infections (viral warts, herpes), parasites (scabies), fungi (ringworm, athlete’s foot), and bacterial infections like impetigo. Other diseases, such as tetanus or rabies, are transmitted through skin punctures. Additionally, lack of touch (touch starvation) causes stress, high blood pressure, and immune system issues.  WebMD WebMD  +2 Diseases Spread by Touch (Direct/Indirect Contact)  Skin-to-Skin Infections: Viral warts, molluscum contagiosum, and herpes simplex. Fungal Infections: Ringworm, athlete’s foot, and jock itch. Bacterial Infections: Impetigo and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Parasitic Diseases: Scabies, which burrow under the skin. Respiratory Illnesses: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) can spread through touching contaminated surfaces.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | CDC (.gov) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | CDC (.gov) 

 Diseases Transmitted via Skin Puncture  

Tetanus: Caused by bacteria entering through wounds, often from soil or rust. Rabies: Transmitted through saliva via animal bites or scratches.  Gresham College Gresham College  +4 Conditions Affecting the Sense of Touch Allodynia: A condition where non-painful stimuli, like light touch or brushing hair, causes pain. Dysesthesia: An abnormal, often painful sensation of touch, sometimes feeling like bugs crawling on the skin (formication). Hypoesthesia: Reduced sensitivity or numbness to touch.  NIH News in Health (.gov) NIH News in Health (.gov)  +4 Effects of “Touch Starvation” (Lack of Physical Touch) A lack of human contact can lead to significant physical and mental health issues:  WebMD WebMD  +1 Increased cortisol levels, causing stress and anxiety. Higher heart rate and blood pressure. Weakened immune system, increasing susceptibility to infections. Sleep disturbances and fatigue.  

WebMD WebMD  +1

Merkel Disks: Detect sustained pressure and fine textures. Ruffini Endings: Detect skin stretch and sustained pressure. Free Nerve Endings: Detect pain, temperature (hot/cold), and light touch. Neural Pathways: Stimuli are converted into action potentials and carried by peripheral nerves to the spinal cord (dorsal root ganglion), then through the spinal nerves to the brainstem and the somatosensory cortex in the brain. Sensory Processing: The somatosensory cortex, arranged as a topographic map, interprets these signals, with more sensitive areas (lips, fingertips) having higher receptor density. Adaptation: Receptors can be rapidly adapting (detecting movement) or slowly adapting (detecting shape/size)

Synesthesia is a harmless, usually genetic, neurological trait where stimulation of one sense (e.g., hearing sound) involuntarily triggers experiences in another (e.g., seeing color), affecting 2%–4% of the population. Common symptoms include seeing letters/numbers in specific colors, hearing music in colors, or tasting words. It is not treated as a disorder; many enjoy this unique perception, though it can sometimes feel isolating.  Wikipedia Wikipedia  +6 Key Aspects of Synesthesia Symptoms: Involuntary, consistent, and automatic sensory experiences. Common examples include grapheme-color synesthesia (letters/numbers have colors) and chromesthesia (sounds trigger colors or shapes). Causes: It is a neurological, often genetic condition. It involves increased connectivity between brain regions that are usually separate, causing cross-activation during sensory processing. Types: There are over 35 known types, including sound-to-taste (lexical-gustatory), spatial sequence (seeing time or numbers in physical space), and color-hearing. Daily Life: Most synesthetes find their experiences to be a neutral, or even positive, aspect of life that aids memory and creativity. However, it can sometimes be overwhelming or cause confusion if their perceptions differ from others. Treatment: No treatment is required or standard, as it is considered a difference in processing rather than a disease. 

Common Types and Experiences Grapheme-color synesthesia: The most common form, where letters and numbers are shaded with specific, consistent colors. Sound-to-color (Chromesthesia): Sounds, music, or voices may evoke colors, shapes, or movements. Lexical-gustatory synesthesia: Words or sounds produce distinct tastes or textures in the mouth. Spatial Sequence: Calendars, months, or numbers are perceived as having a specific, fixed location in physical space.  Reddit Reddit  +5 Many synesthetes report that their experiences are consistent over their lifetime, and the associations are involuntary.

Talk soon

 ! Dean !