If someone suddenly attacks me with a pocket knife, for example, they’ll most likely immediately go right for my belly, since I am 6’5" tall, and stab or rip it open. Therefore, I’m curious how fatal and painful such a wound is?
- purely from anecdotal, no medical knowledge involved …
- supposedly incredibly painful – not just skin nerves, but all the stuff surrounding your guts (stomach aches, cramping, etc.)
- depending on getting emergency medical help – not immediately fatal but huge risk of infection and sepsis (stuff inside your guts is supposed to stay quarantined inside your guts)
Ya, from what I understand, you won’t die quickly from it, but you’ll wish you did. Supposedly, you can survive a disembowelment for a long time as long as it all stays attached to you.
- purely from anecdotal, no medical knowledge involved …
There are some big veins and arteries running through there not too far from the surface. If your assailant gets one you are on a pretty quick trip to the morgue. As others have mentioned, sepsis is a real problem—if your intestines take a hit, the normally helpful bacteria in there can go straight into your bloodstream. That is a painful, nasty, and prolonged death.
In September my mom’s bowel ruptured due to a very large hernia she’d had for 20 years. She survived, but she spent a month in ICU recovering from the sepsis. The surgeries, the colostomy, none of it held a candle to the recovery from the sepsis. She was delirious for 3 weeks. Childlike, even. We thought it had done permanent brain damage, but thank God she recovered.
That was in September, it is now nearly 7 months later and she still can’t walk. She just doesn’t have the strength in he legs, and her blood pressure has not recovered. It’s very low, and when she stands it drops even worse, making it a risk she’ll pass out.
Sepsis is no fucking joke. The day she got sick I’ve never seen a human in that much pain. I’m really grateful that she doesn’t remember it, because it still gives me nightmares.
Relevant
This book was written by a doctor for fiction writers who want realistic depictions of mayhem.
Sounds like a fun experiment to try at home
As I understand it, dying from a belly wound is historically one of the most slow and painful ways to die in combat.
And also one of the most sure ways you’ll actually end up dead. Stomach wounds are very prone to infection.
Tis but an orc scratch.
An old saying goes like: The loser of a knife fight dies in the street. The winner in the hospital.
You OK buddy? I saw a reply further down this thread that gives me the impression this is less than a shower thought and more of a genuine fear
I’m ok. Its still rather a shower thought.
Glad to hear, stay safe out there :-)
Well, I’m not an expert, but I would guess that it depends. If you die, it was fatal, and how long it takes you to die will determine how long you’re in pain. I suppose it’s going to hurt, because you’re not supposed to get stabbed in the belly and ripped open. So as general advice, I would avoid it if possible.
Makes sense. Do you think that my tall height puts my belly in a more vulnerable and exposed position in case of an attack?
That will depend on whether you are standing up, sitting down, or laying on your back stretched out like a cat.
I mean if I am standing up.
I don’t know, man, maybe you could carry around a watermelon or a box of old records around? That way you protect your belly, but it’s like super casual so you blend in. Like “Oh, let’s stab that guy… wait, no, he’s on his way to a barbecue. Can’t be stabbing him, there’s a watermelon in the way.”
Height is generally an advantage as it usually comes with increased reach and strength.
Avoid knives at all costs, but if you can’t use your reach to protect your vital bits until you can get away.
Obviously being stabbed is no fun, but the stomach adds additional fun of hydrochloric acid, bile, and digested food spilling into your body cavity, which dissolves your organs and contaminates your blood, which leads to Sepsis.
This post has a weird energy. I can’t decide if it reads more phobia or more fetish. Maybe both XD
Depends on the pocket knife. ;) And your belly, I guess.
Traditional knife? 3 to 4 inches? It’s going to hurt and you’ll bleed like a stuck pig, but I doubt it would be fatal.
Now, somebody rolling up with this bastard?
Sepsis do be a serious risk as long as we’re not talking about a ridiculously shallow cut. Intestines, Stomach, Kidenys… the contents of these should not be mixed with your blood.
Depends how fat you are. All blades will hurt a lot. Less than 3 inches shouldn’t be fatal, but anything can happen. 3-6 inches is going to depend on what gets hit and how bad, but you’re looking at a 30-50% chance of dieing as a best case scenario. More than 6 inches, and it’s probably time to make peace with your god.
Have heard that belly wounds are a slow and painful way to die. That being said, you’d have a better chance of survival than being stabbed in the chest.
…or so I’m told 🤔
It depends what they hit
I’m not going to try to talk out my ass here, but years ago I dated a gastroenterologist, and one of the conversations we had centered around suicide attempts from people shooting themselves in the stomach.
She said that was the quickest way to not die, but to ensure that you will spend the rest of your life receiving regular medical care and you’ll never shit or piss normally again. Her message in that conversation to me was that the chances of dying by shooting/stabbing yourself in the gut are very low, but that doesn’t mean it’s consequence-free!
