Congenital analgesia: The agony of feeling no pain

Steven (right) with his brother Chris in 1983

Steven Pete and his brother were born with the rare genetic disorder congenital analgesia. They grew up - in Washington state, US - with a sense of touch but, as he explains in his own words, without ever feeling pain.

It first became apparent to my parents that something was wrong when I was four or five months old.

I began chewing on my tongue while teething. They took me to a paediatrician where I underwent a series of tests.

At first they put a cigarette lighter underneath my foot and waited for my skin to blister. Once they saw that I had no response to that then they began running needles up and down my spine. And since I had no response to either of those tests they came to the conclusion that I had what I have - congenital analgesia.

By which point, I had chewed off about a quarter of my tongue through teething.


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