[General] My toes feel numb?

terrenziqq · Jul 10, 2013

Is it okay to say "My toes feel numb"?
Toes don't have brains. So, does it sound okay for you English native users?
Any other way to say?
Thanks a lot.

charliedeut · Jul 10, 2013

numb - definition of numb by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

As you will see, "numb" refers to the ability to move or feel. Therefore, the fact that toes have no brains is irrelevant.

About the sentence being natural, I'd say so, but I'm not a native English speaker.

Rover_KE · Jul 10, 2013

I'd say 'I can't feel my toes'.

emsr2d2 · Jul 10, 2013

I'd say "My toes are numb" or "My toes have gone numb". I wouldn't use "feel" in this instance. Rover's "I can't feel my toes" is another great alternative - note that it does not mean that if you put your fingers on your toes, you cannot feel your toes with your fingers! It means "The feeling in my toes has gone/vanished" or "I have no feeling/sensation in my toes".

Raymott · Jul 10, 2013

In medical usage, "numb" is sensory only. If you can feel your toe, but not move it, it isn't numb, it's paralysed. In fact, I've only heard 'numb' used this way by lay people too. Maybe somewhere in the world they use 'numb' to mean immobile body parts.
To me, there's nothing wrong with "My toes feel numb". We can also say "This towel feels wet", but towels don't have a brain either.

emsr2d2 · Jul 10, 2013

I would never use "numb" to mean that I can't move the relevant part of the anatomy.

MikeNewYork · Jul 10, 2013

emsr2d2 said:
I would never use "numb" to mean that I can't move the relevant part of the anatomy.

Nor would I.

terrenziqq · Jul 11, 2013

Raymott said:
In medical usage, "numb" is sensory only. If you can feel your toe, but not move it, it isn't numb, it's paralysed. In fact, I've only heard 'numb' used this way by lay people too. Maybe somewhere in the world they use 'numb' to mean immobile body parts.
To me, there's nothing wrong with "My toes feel numb". We can also say "This towel feels wet", but towels don't have a brain either.

Maybe I chose the wrong word. Indeed, I wanted to use the sentence not in such a miserable condition. What would you say if you can control well your fingers and toes in winter but you cannot feel the tips of them gradually due to the chilliness?

MikeNewYork · Jul 11, 2013

terrenziqq said:
Maybe I chose the wrong word. Indeed, I wanted to use the sentence not in such a miserable condition. What would you say if you can control well your fingers and toes in winter but you cannot feel the tips of them gradually due to the chilliness?

There is nothing wrong with "my toes feel numb".

emsr2d2 · Jul 11, 2013

terrenziqq said:
Maybe I chose the wrong word. Indeed, I wanted to use the sentence not in such a miserable condition. What would you say if you can control well your fingers and toes in winter but you cannot feel the tips of them gradually due to the chilliness?

If it only affects the tips of them and if they go very white at the parts you can't feel, then a) you might have Raynaud's Syndrome and b) you can say "the tips of my fingers and toes go dead in very cold weather".

MikeNewYork · Jul 11, 2013

emsr2d2 said:
If it only affects the tips of them and if they go very white at the parts you can't feel, then a) you might have Raynaud's Syndrome and b) you can say "the tips of my fingers and toes go dead in very cold weather".

Better Reynaud's disease than Reynaud's syndrome. See here: NYU Langone Medical Center

[General] My toes feel numb?

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