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Touch and Tenderness, no 2  The skin is one of our most intriguing organs. Scientists tell us that our body is covered by thousands of small receptors that can sense cold, heat, contact or pain. Just imagine the complexity of the organisation! Every square inch of our skin has an average of three hundred receptors. Each of these is connected separately, via long and sensitive nerves, to the touch centres in our brain. At the top of the brain stem six hundred thousand of such nerves are entering the brain cavity, to fan out in different directions to their awareness points in the cerebrum. The end result is that we are in communication with every part of our skin all the time. The skin has many functions. It is waterproof and keeps infections out. It regulates our body temperature. It protects us from knocks and blows. But it also has an important psychological task. It is a well known fact that young children who have not been stroked and caressed during the first days and months of their life, will retain feelings of unhappiness throughout their lives. When entering into this world a human being needs to be cuddled to acquire a basic sense of security and wellbeing. We need to be touched! John Wijngaards |